Red line must feature in land conference

A probe by Namibian Sun has revealed Angola had, as far back as 2015, agreed to the construction of a livestock border fence in a bid to erase the so-called red line. Recently, calls have been made by land activists that Angolan experts should be invited to the upcoming second land conference in Namibia, in order to discuss moving of the red line.It was further discovered that N$30 million has been budgeted for this financial year to construct at least 50km of the 450km proposed livestock border fence between the two countries. It appears, however, that the money has only been made available on paper and that the project managers are yet to receive the funding. The red line, also referred to as the Veterinary Cordon Fence (VCF) is a pest-exclusion fence separating northern Namibia from the central and southern country and was set up due to the presence of foot-and-mouth disease in the northern communal areas.When approached for comment, Dr Albertina Shilongo, Deputy Chief of Epidemiology, Import and Export Control in the agriculture ministry, declined to comment on whether the money will be made available soon. She however noted that once the fence is constructed, restrictions currently in place with the existing red line will be relaxed. “We will not remove it physically but it will no longer exist. We will not restrict movement but once an outbreak is reported it will be activated,” she said. According to her a report on the technicalities on the proposed fence has been completed and submitted to relevant authorities. This comes at a time when Landless People's Movement (LPM) Bernadus Swartbooi pushed for Namibia to invite Angolan authorities to the upcoming land conference to be part of discussions on the removal of the red line. “We would have to invite Angolan representatives to understand the impact of the red line and why it is there. Our view is that one can look not just at the construction of a borderline, but, create a demarcated area of 70 to 100 kilometres and create a system that would allow us to treat that area as a special zone for animal healthcare,” he said.Potential risksMeanwhile, local agricultural experts argued that general consensus needs to be established that the red line is not there to divide Namibia. Experts are also worried that Namibia stands to lose her status as meat exporter to Europe if the barrier is removed without proper planning.Wallie Roux, a local agricultural expert, emphasised that the red line is not an “apartheid” structure but in fact, was created to protect Namibia's cloven-hooved animals from potential disease outbreaks. Roux explained that the barrier can however only be successfully removed if Angola gets to the same veterinary status as Namibia, something he said is not possible in the foreseeable future.Angolan authorities have often been accused of not taking FMD seriously leading to infections spreading into Namibia.“The alternative is to put up a double fence like an international border. We would need a very strong veterinary control from Zambezi River to the ocean. The problem is if it cannot be sustained and a single FMD case is reported the entire country will close down as an export market.”BenefitsLocal economist Klaus Schade believes that, in principle, removing the red line would open markets such as the EU, China, USA and so on, to farmers north of the fence. However, the quality of the meat needs to be in line with the demand in these markets.Schade cautioned that removing the fence would imply that a fence has to be erected along the Angolan border to prevent FMD and other livestock diseases spreading to Namibia. He added that this would cut off communal farmers from grazing areas in southern Angola and increase the pressure on the grazing areas in northern Namibia, in particular during the dry season. This could require a reduction in the number of livestock in order to avoid overgrazing.Currently, only farmers from the FMD-free areas south of the veterinary cordon fence serve overseas markets. “Farmers north of the VCF have to be willing to sell cattle in order to benefit from new market opportunities rather than keeping cattle as a sign of wealth. An additional supply of livestock to Namibian abattoirs would support the meat processing industry and could result in new business opportunities such as canned meat,” said Schade.Former economic planning minister Tom Alweendo in October last year said a new approach is needed to allow the removal of the cordon fence as a way of incorporating all Namibians into the mainstream economy. Alweendo said the removal of the red line needed to be handled carefully and in a responsible manner.He emphasised the need to ensure that Namibia's laws, regulations, and inspection regime are of a world-class standard to avoid disrupting Namibia's exports to external markets if the fence is removed.According to him, access to markets, together with land tenure security, has been one of the biggest barriers to upward mobility for many communal farmers.He said the communal farming in the northern communal area directly sustains the livelihoods of close to half of Namibia's population, and remains their main source of household income. JEMIMA BEUKES

Red line must feature in land conference

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-19

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Red line must feature in land conference

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-19

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