Nationalise half of white farms
Constitutional expert Nico Horn believes that half the land currently owned by white farmers can be nationalised in some way, with just compensation being paid.
“Now with the Namibia Statistics Agency statistics we have seen 70% of (agricultural) land belongs to white farmers. Now think if half of those farms are nationalised in some way or another or expropriated with just compensation, as the president promised… then you can have 4 000 families resettled on those farms,” he told Namibian Sun this week.
Last Thursday, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) revealed that white commercial farmers still own 70% of commercial farmland in Namibia, while black people own just 16% of the total 39 million hectares of the freehold agricultural land, and government just about 14%.
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda earlier this week warned white commercial farmers, saying they must start engaging with the future leaders of the country.
“We are not under any illusion, we know the white man owns the land with the permission of the coward and black elite that cannot confront the white man.
“But these guys [the current leadership] are going to die very soon and we will get our land,” Amupanda told Namibian Sun.
Since the start of the week civil society organisations and traditional authorities have also threatened to boycott next month's national land indaba, if government refuses to release the master list of resettlement beneficiaries, among other demands.
AR and the Landless People's Movement (LPM) have already declared the conference predetermined and an absolute farce.
“I hear LPM is not going to attend, but I think they should attend it, even if it just to let all the voices be heard. If AR and LPM is not going to attend and the white farmers unions are not going to attend, what will happen? It is just going to be a brainstorming meeting for civil servants,” Horn said.
He is particularly worried that there seems to be no clear plan or indication of a speaker's list.
To date there has been no official agenda or participant list disclosed to the media, but these documents have been leaked on social media.
This has been a bone of contention for Namibian activists, who are continually raising their voices over government's failure to address landlessness.
Horn is of the opinion that government should interrogate the kinds of land ownership, and divide and address the different needs of the country's citizens, in terms of land.
Earlier this week, civil society organisations said 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), the //Naosan /Aes Movement for Land (Ancestor Fire), the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU), the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN), the Namibia Rural Women's Assembly (NRWA), the Damara King's Council, the 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.
JEMIMA BEUKES
“Now with the Namibia Statistics Agency statistics we have seen 70% of (agricultural) land belongs to white farmers. Now think if half of those farms are nationalised in some way or another or expropriated with just compensation, as the president promised… then you can have 4 000 families resettled on those farms,” he told Namibian Sun this week.
Last Thursday, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) revealed that white commercial farmers still own 70% of commercial farmland in Namibia, while black people own just 16% of the total 39 million hectares of the freehold agricultural land, and government just about 14%.
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda earlier this week warned white commercial farmers, saying they must start engaging with the future leaders of the country.
“We are not under any illusion, we know the white man owns the land with the permission of the coward and black elite that cannot confront the white man.
“But these guys [the current leadership] are going to die very soon and we will get our land,” Amupanda told Namibian Sun.
Since the start of the week civil society organisations and traditional authorities have also threatened to boycott next month's national land indaba, if government refuses to release the master list of resettlement beneficiaries, among other demands.
AR and the Landless People's Movement (LPM) have already declared the conference predetermined and an absolute farce.
“I hear LPM is not going to attend, but I think they should attend it, even if it just to let all the voices be heard. If AR and LPM is not going to attend and the white farmers unions are not going to attend, what will happen? It is just going to be a brainstorming meeting for civil servants,” Horn said.
He is particularly worried that there seems to be no clear plan or indication of a speaker's list.
To date there has been no official agenda or participant list disclosed to the media, but these documents have been leaked on social media.
This has been a bone of contention for Namibian activists, who are continually raising their voices over government's failure to address landlessness.
Horn is of the opinion that government should interrogate the kinds of land ownership, and divide and address the different needs of the country's citizens, in terms of land.
Earlier this week, civil society organisations said 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), the //Naosan /Aes Movement for Land (Ancestor Fire), the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU), the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN), the Namibia Rural Women's Assembly (NRWA), the Damara King's Council, the 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.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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