Land conference: Boycott threats grow
Civil society organisations have threatened to snub next month's national land conference unless various reports dealing with the issue of land reform are publicly released.
Civil society organisations say they will not attend next month's second national land conference if prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila fails to release relevant documents, including the controversial master list of resettlement beneficiaries.
The chairperson of the Non-Governmental Organisation Forum (Nangof) Trust, Sandie Tjaronda, yesterday said they cannot be part of something that they do not agree with.
At the same time, a joint press statement was issued by civil society including the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN), National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), National Youth Council (NYC) and the Namibia CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO), saying all their demands must be published on social media and other platforms in the spirit of the Access to Information Bill in order for participants to prepare thoroughly.
Others signatories to the statement are the Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG), //Naosan /Aes Movement for Land (Ancestor Fire), Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU), Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN), Namibia Rural Women's Assembly (NRWA), Damara King's Council, Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) and the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA).
Their demands include the release of a report by the lands minister on the 24 resolutions of the 1991 national land conference; the list of resettlement beneficiaries; the review report on the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme (AALS), Resettlement Programme and Post Resettlement Support; a report on farms offered to the government or waived and purchased; the final report of a review of the Mass Housing Development Programme and any relevant documents.
“We also propose that the plenary sessions of the second land conference be broadcast live by NBC-TV and that the conference budget make provision for this cost. Social media platforms must be provided to allow citizens who are not attending to follow and participate,” the statement read.
The statement said the organisations have been sidelined and there seems to be no clarity whether the prime minister's office or the lands ministry is organising the conference.
“We have engaged in the preparations of the second land conference with the understanding that our inputs would be taken into account, which is not the case. We maintain that if the above concerns are not addressed adequately and in the spirit of Harambee that nobody must be left behind, civil society will reconsider the legitimacy of the second land conference,” the statement read.
Civil society is particularly concerned that participants will not have sufficient information and documentation to critically review the various programmes.
“Equally, since there was no prior consensus building, the second land conference will be unable to resolve sensitive and emotional topics such as ancestral land claims and urban land reform in five days.
“The second land conference should rather be seen as the start of an inclusive and robust land education and reform process with clearly stated deliverables and a set time frame,” it said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
The chairperson of the Non-Governmental Organisation Forum (Nangof) Trust, Sandie Tjaronda, yesterday said they cannot be part of something that they do not agree with.
At the same time, a joint press statement was issued by civil society including the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN), National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), National Youth Council (NYC) and the Namibia CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO), saying all their demands must be published on social media and other platforms in the spirit of the Access to Information Bill in order for participants to prepare thoroughly.
Others signatories to the statement are the Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG), //Naosan /Aes Movement for Land (Ancestor Fire), Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU), Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN), Namibia Rural Women's Assembly (NRWA), Damara King's Council, Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) and the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA).
Their demands include the release of a report by the lands minister on the 24 resolutions of the 1991 national land conference; the list of resettlement beneficiaries; the review report on the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme (AALS), Resettlement Programme and Post Resettlement Support; a report on farms offered to the government or waived and purchased; the final report of a review of the Mass Housing Development Programme and any relevant documents.
“We also propose that the plenary sessions of the second land conference be broadcast live by NBC-TV and that the conference budget make provision for this cost. Social media platforms must be provided to allow citizens who are not attending to follow and participate,” the statement read.
The statement said the organisations have been sidelined and there seems to be no clarity whether the prime minister's office or the lands ministry is organising the conference.
“We have engaged in the preparations of the second land conference with the understanding that our inputs would be taken into account, which is not the case. We maintain that if the above concerns are not addressed adequately and in the spirit of Harambee that nobody must be left behind, civil society will reconsider the legitimacy of the second land conference,” the statement read.
Civil society is particularly concerned that participants will not have sufficient information and documentation to critically review the various programmes.
“Equally, since there was no prior consensus building, the second land conference will be unable to resolve sensitive and emotional topics such as ancestral land claims and urban land reform in five days.
“The second land conference should rather be seen as the start of an inclusive and robust land education and reform process with clearly stated deliverables and a set time frame,” it said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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