Land expropriation needed

It looks like it is all systems go for the much-awaited second land conference that government will be hosting next month. Various pressure groups, including civil society and the opposition, have forced government to concede that a land conference is indeed needed to address the rampant questions over the contentious land issue. Although the umbrella body representing non-governmental organisations, Nangof, is calling for another delay, it remains to be seen whether government will grant them that request this time around. It is as clear as daylight that land reform remains government’s unfulfilled obligation, considering that thousands of Namibians are still landless and only a few people benefit from the riches of the land. Attempts and efforts to correct the skewed land ownership have not yet achieved the desired results. Last year the Ministry of Land Reform announced that government has since independence only expropriated three farms measuring 15 184 hectares, while foreign nationals still owned close to 1.4 million hectares of agricultural land in the country. The fact that many pressure groups have reawakened discussion on the land issue says a lot about the consistent failures over the years. We have also taken note that many opposition parties are scheduling to have their separate discussions over the land issue ahead of the national conference. The Landless People’s Movement, which is championed by the likes of Henny Seibeb and fired Swapo MP Bernadus Swartbooi, will also host its own policy conference before the national event. It is, however, disappointing that the ruling party Swapo has adopted a deafening silence on the issue. As the government of the day, Swapo’s policy pronouncements on the issue of land, is key and crucial for the September gathering. If Swapo is unable to take a strong and radical stance, then this second land conference would be nothing but mere window dressing. The well-documented problems of inequality, poverty and unemployment, which the majority of Namibians are subjected to, will not be addressed unless a radical shift in land rights is adopted by the authorities. This is the honest discussion that must take place.