Lands ministry drags feet on master list
While Ombudsman John Walters is still waiting for the master list of resettlement farm beneficiaries - requested more than two months ago - he says the full list will likely not be made public unless it is relevant to the investigation at hand.
“I don't think there is a need for public consumption, it's just for the investigation. My final report will be made public after I have submitted it to the ministry of land reform. But the entire list will not be made public,” Walters says.
He says the master list is a fundamental tool in his office's probe into numerous claims of unfair or questionable farm allocations connected to the land reform and resettlement programme.
“I would not just ask for the sake of asking. I need it because allegations have been made. I have to verify those. I have to go back and see what processes took place for someone to obtain a farm.”
The goal of his investigation is to make comprehensive and meaningful recommendations on how to resolve the challenges faced by the land resettlement programme, which he can only do if the master list is made available.
“I have to understand what went wrong here. That is the simple reason why I want the list.”
Walters says he had begun working on the report and would need the list at the latest by the end of August.
No reason to delay
The ombudsman's investigation was launched earlier this year after it emerged that a 2 376-hectare resettlement farm in the Omaheke Region had been awarded in March to Vicky Erenstein Ya Toivo, the widow of the late Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo.
Walters says the latest feedback from the land reform ministry is that it has obtained a legal opinion from the attorney-general on the matter and now needs to consult internally.
The attorney-general, Albert Kawana, informed Namibian Sun that he could not divulge the details of his recommendations to the ministry because of client confidentiality.
Walters says he is a patient man.
“I will give them time to consider all the options. It would be unreasonable of me not to give them the time they require to discuss the matter.”
But he adds that his request cannot be denied on any grounds and that taking the legal route is unnecessary.
“There shouldn't be a need to go to court. I am entitled to that information, because I am busy with an investigation. That list is part of the investigation.”
Further, the information is already public information and not protected by law as confidential or secret, Walters says. Legal practitioner Willem Odendaal of the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) agrees that the process of allocating resettlement land is supposed to be transparent.
“The public has a right to know to whom the government allocates land, whether it is done in terms of government's own policies,” Odendaal says.
Praise and concern
Frederico Links, chairperson of the ACTION coalition in Namibia, says the delay in providing the list is worrying.
“On the one hand, this administration is preaching how it is trying to make public service delivery and decision-making more transparent and accountable. On the other hand, its actions say something else completely. And I think many and increasing numbers of Namibians have started noticing that the walk and the talk are not in step.”
Links adds that information such as the resettlement beneficiary master list is a crucial component for a successful land conference and should be provided well ahead of the event.
“We cannot have meaningful discussions if most of the stakeholders are at an informational disadvantage. And this issue has already damaged perceptions of the government's intentions with the land conference. Clouds of distrust have already gathered around the upcoming land conference, and that you have to lay squarely at the government's feet.”
Walters, on the other hand, says although the government can be criticised for how long it has taken to address the “burning issue” of land reform, he commends its willingness to put it on the table now.
He says the land conference allows everyone to state their views and make recommendations.
“They did not just shove the issue under the carpet and let it stay there. The only criticism I have is that it took a little too long to address the issue,” the ombudsman says.
“I don't think there is a need for public consumption, it's just for the investigation. My final report will be made public after I have submitted it to the ministry of land reform. But the entire list will not be made public,” Walters says.
He says the master list is a fundamental tool in his office's probe into numerous claims of unfair or questionable farm allocations connected to the land reform and resettlement programme.
“I would not just ask for the sake of asking. I need it because allegations have been made. I have to verify those. I have to go back and see what processes took place for someone to obtain a farm.”
The goal of his investigation is to make comprehensive and meaningful recommendations on how to resolve the challenges faced by the land resettlement programme, which he can only do if the master list is made available.
“I have to understand what went wrong here. That is the simple reason why I want the list.”
Walters says he had begun working on the report and would need the list at the latest by the end of August.
No reason to delay
The ombudsman's investigation was launched earlier this year after it emerged that a 2 376-hectare resettlement farm in the Omaheke Region had been awarded in March to Vicky Erenstein Ya Toivo, the widow of the late Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo.
Walters says the latest feedback from the land reform ministry is that it has obtained a legal opinion from the attorney-general on the matter and now needs to consult internally.
The attorney-general, Albert Kawana, informed Namibian Sun that he could not divulge the details of his recommendations to the ministry because of client confidentiality.
Walters says he is a patient man.
“I will give them time to consider all the options. It would be unreasonable of me not to give them the time they require to discuss the matter.”
But he adds that his request cannot be denied on any grounds and that taking the legal route is unnecessary.
“There shouldn't be a need to go to court. I am entitled to that information, because I am busy with an investigation. That list is part of the investigation.”
Further, the information is already public information and not protected by law as confidential or secret, Walters says. Legal practitioner Willem Odendaal of the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) agrees that the process of allocating resettlement land is supposed to be transparent.
“The public has a right to know to whom the government allocates land, whether it is done in terms of government's own policies,” Odendaal says.
Praise and concern
Frederico Links, chairperson of the ACTION coalition in Namibia, says the delay in providing the list is worrying.
“On the one hand, this administration is preaching how it is trying to make public service delivery and decision-making more transparent and accountable. On the other hand, its actions say something else completely. And I think many and increasing numbers of Namibians have started noticing that the walk and the talk are not in step.”
Links adds that information such as the resettlement beneficiary master list is a crucial component for a successful land conference and should be provided well ahead of the event.
“We cannot have meaningful discussions if most of the stakeholders are at an informational disadvantage. And this issue has already damaged perceptions of the government's intentions with the land conference. Clouds of distrust have already gathered around the upcoming land conference, and that you have to lay squarely at the government's feet.”
Walters, on the other hand, says although the government can be criticised for how long it has taken to address the “burning issue” of land reform, he commends its willingness to put it on the table now.
He says the land conference allows everyone to state their views and make recommendations.
“They did not just shove the issue under the carpet and let it stay there. The only criticism I have is that it took a little too long to address the issue,” the ombudsman says.
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