Swapo under pressure
Analysts believe Namibia's ruling party is coming under increasing pressure, given that its sister party, the ANC, has now vowed to amend the SA constitution to expropriate land without compensation.
The battle for regional distribution of land to impoverished and landless communities has taken a new twist, with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa indicating that his ANC party will push ahead with a constitutional amendment to expropriate land without compensation.
“The ANC will through the parliamentary process finalise the proposed amendment to the constitution that outlines more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be effected,” Ramaphosa said earlier this week.
This, according to local commentators, has put further pressure on Swapo to deal decisively and firmly with the issue of land redistribution, as well as the expropriation conundrum.
The ANC has been buckling under pressure from the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) under the leadership of former ANC youth leader Julius Malema.
The EFF has used the platforms of land and nationalisation to garner widespread support, which is expected to grow in the 2019 general elections.
Swapo, on the other hand, is also facing the emergence of radical pressure groups, in the form of the Landless People Movement and the Affirmative Repositioning movement. Ironically, the two groupings are both led by former Swapo youth leaders.
The Namibian government has struggled to come up with tangible solutions to the land issue. Its ongoing land-reform programme has also come under fire for benefiting the elite and politically connected, while urban land remains out of reach for the majority of Namibians.
Local commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah believes Swapo and the ANC are now under pressure to satisfy the land hunger of their voters.
Kamwanyah said the ANC decision was largely inspired by the land discourse triggered by the EFF.
“They are in a dilemma now. And they will go through with the amendments, not because they want to, but because they need to do something about it (the land question). They rather want to be seen as the agenda-setters,” he said.
Kamwanyah also believes that whatever happens in South Africa will set a serious precedent for Namibia that could eventually stir up emotions within the Swapo-led government to expropriate land.
President Hage Geingob at the weekend hinted at the growing tension around land during an interview with South African media in which he reportedly said: “For our white brothers to co-exist, they must smell the coffee.
“People are getting angry and we, the leaders, are still controlling them. And what we are saying is let's do it together so that we can all live together.
“Let's solve this problem together. White people must see that there is danger somewhere. Some of us who are old will go very soon and the young people are angry, they are not going to be like us,” he said.
Unam political science lecturer Lesley Blaauw is of the opinion that the ANC's decision is just one of many legal routes to deal with the land question, but that the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
“Whatever the turnout is in South Africa it will largely influence the way we proceed with the land issue here in Namibia,” he said.
“It will also affect foreign direct investment; the uncertainly in the interim will really influence investors… you must remember, in Southern Africa land is owned by investors. If it is handled with a degree of certainty and transparency then it will be the best for all of us, but if it is viewed as a biased process to redress the racial past then it will create a problem,” Blaauw said.
South African constitutional law expert and political analyst Professor Shadrack Gutto cautioned Namibians to hold their breath and wait it out to see if the ANC's promise will survive the constitutional court.
He also believes Ramaphosa's announcement amounts to politicking as the ANC battles to regain lost electoral ground ahead of the 2019 polls.
“Whatever is changed will have to go to the constitutional court. I can tell you there will be a lot of litigation around this. We have to accept that this is what the party wants, but it must be done within the constitutional framework,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
“The ANC will through the parliamentary process finalise the proposed amendment to the constitution that outlines more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be effected,” Ramaphosa said earlier this week.
This, according to local commentators, has put further pressure on Swapo to deal decisively and firmly with the issue of land redistribution, as well as the expropriation conundrum.
The ANC has been buckling under pressure from the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) under the leadership of former ANC youth leader Julius Malema.
The EFF has used the platforms of land and nationalisation to garner widespread support, which is expected to grow in the 2019 general elections.
Swapo, on the other hand, is also facing the emergence of radical pressure groups, in the form of the Landless People Movement and the Affirmative Repositioning movement. Ironically, the two groupings are both led by former Swapo youth leaders.
The Namibian government has struggled to come up with tangible solutions to the land issue. Its ongoing land-reform programme has also come under fire for benefiting the elite and politically connected, while urban land remains out of reach for the majority of Namibians.
Local commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah believes Swapo and the ANC are now under pressure to satisfy the land hunger of their voters.
Kamwanyah said the ANC decision was largely inspired by the land discourse triggered by the EFF.
“They are in a dilemma now. And they will go through with the amendments, not because they want to, but because they need to do something about it (the land question). They rather want to be seen as the agenda-setters,” he said.
Kamwanyah also believes that whatever happens in South Africa will set a serious precedent for Namibia that could eventually stir up emotions within the Swapo-led government to expropriate land.
President Hage Geingob at the weekend hinted at the growing tension around land during an interview with South African media in which he reportedly said: “For our white brothers to co-exist, they must smell the coffee.
“People are getting angry and we, the leaders, are still controlling them. And what we are saying is let's do it together so that we can all live together.
“Let's solve this problem together. White people must see that there is danger somewhere. Some of us who are old will go very soon and the young people are angry, they are not going to be like us,” he said.
Unam political science lecturer Lesley Blaauw is of the opinion that the ANC's decision is just one of many legal routes to deal with the land question, but that the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
“Whatever the turnout is in South Africa it will largely influence the way we proceed with the land issue here in Namibia,” he said.
“It will also affect foreign direct investment; the uncertainly in the interim will really influence investors… you must remember, in Southern Africa land is owned by investors. If it is handled with a degree of certainty and transparency then it will be the best for all of us, but if it is viewed as a biased process to redress the racial past then it will create a problem,” Blaauw said.
South African constitutional law expert and political analyst Professor Shadrack Gutto cautioned Namibians to hold their breath and wait it out to see if the ANC's promise will survive the constitutional court.
He also believes Ramaphosa's announcement amounts to politicking as the ANC battles to regain lost electoral ground ahead of the 2019 polls.
“Whatever is changed will have to go to the constitutional court. I can tell you there will be a lot of litigation around this. We have to accept that this is what the party wants, but it must be done within the constitutional framework,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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