Katima Mulilo
Hundreds of defiant youth that occupied land at Macaravan East last Thursday held a highly charged meeting with the Zambezi Regional Governor, Lawrence Sampofu, but no immediate solution was found for their grievances.
Up to 1 000 youths have in recent weeks cleared and grabbed portions of Macaravan East on the outskirts of Katima Mulilo, alleging the town council is self-serving and has failed to allocate them single-use residential erven.
They accuse the CEO of the town Charles Nawa and the chairperson of the management committee Salubila Maswahu of having multiple residential and business erven at the expense of landless youths at Katima Mulilo.
Last Thursday’s marathon meeting with Sampofu was preceded by a march in which the youth sang and recited chants that taunted the CEO. Some of the placards read, “No plot, no vote, we’re tired of empty promises,” and “Don’t sell our land to foreigners.” There was a heavy police presence at the meeting.
A demonstration was supposed to have taken place on the same day over the issue but was called off to give way for a meeting with the region’s top political leadership.
Sampofu demanded that the youths leave the area under contention as procedures were not properly followed and he reminded them that Namibia is governed according to the rule of law. “In 1991 we had a land conference in Windhoek that culminated in the Land Act. In Namibia no one is allowed to grab land. Whoever will be found there will face the full wrath of the law. What you have done is wrong and that must be clear to everyone,” warned the former NDF officer.
He noted that residents should allow the town council to formally service land before they be allowed to occupy it. “You have to wait for town council to demarcate land for you and put up services such as water, electricity and roads. If you start building now and then council comes later to put services, what if they build a road where you have put up your structure? Are you going to complain again?” Sampofu asked the youths rhetorically.
He further noted that government understands the predicament of many citizens and has stepped up efforts aimed at resolving the issue of urban land.
“We know that urban land allocation is very slow. As governors we met recently and tried to persuade government to give more money to local authorities to service land that can also come at a cheap price. When you just grab land, the town council has the right to approach the High Court which can effect an eviction order,” stressed the Zambezi Regional Governor.
He however cautioned the town council management to work towards reducing perceptions of favouritism in the allocation of land.
“Let’s respect our people when they come to our offices. We should be able to respond to them well. The alleged favouritism needs to stop,” cautioned the Zambezi governor.
The land grabbers who however seemed unfazed in their quest to own a piece of land they can call home vowed to stay put in the area, noting that residents that were relocated from the then Piggery informal settlement in the early 90s to Choto informal settlement did so when the area was not serviced. They have even already named their envisaged location “Lwa yaha location”, which can be loosely translated as ‘we build’.
One enraged youth lamented that grabbing land has become their only option of owning a piece of land as their applications often come to nought. “All we want is a piece of land. When you see someone grabbing land it means they have grown tired. We are suffering. Even when they service this land we won’t be able to buy because we can’t afford. Some of our leaders here have multiple plots but when it comes to voting they simply want us to vote,” complained one youth.
Another youth complained that he has been applying for a plot for a long time and accused town council CEO Charles Nawa of allocating himself plots and to those with financial resources. “If the CEO cannot find a solution for us, we have the right to remove him from office. The CEO is saying land is not serviced but what about his place on the banks of the Zambezi River, is it serviced? Council is only considering those that have money,” lamented the youth.
Nawa answered that the scarcity of serviced urban land is a national problem, adding that due to limited financial resources it is almost impossible to give plots to everyone. “This is not an issue of Katima or Nawa, this is a national issue. The problem is financial resources. It’s not that we don’t want to give plots. This year we will only be able to service 1 000 plots,” said Nawa in response to the slow pace of urban land allocation.
Nawa further noted that council was busy putting up municipal services and the land in question is in line for such services before it is turned into a residential area.
“My business is to develop Katima as a town by putting up services such as water, roads and electricity. It will be difficult to put up these services after you have built there. Our government allows a citizen to own a plot that is well serviced. Your land should be planned, surveyed and serviced,” stressed Nawa.
Nawa revealed at the meeting that as a solution town council has an area that is already planned and surveyed, and that the youths that have grabbed land should have convened a meeting with the leadership before resorting to land grabbing. “This can be the only solution. But your approach was not right. This meeting was supposed to have been the first stage, now that you have already occupied land it’s very difficult,” said Nawa.
Over a week ago over a 1 000 youths grabbed land in the area of Macaravan East in Katima Mulilo, claiming they had resorted to such action because the council failed to respond satisfactorily to their applications for land.
The youths who filled up the community hall though cemented claims that their number has ballooned since the last land grab, as over 2 000 youths had come to vent their frustration over land. The youths used the same platform to deny rumours circulating that they are part of a group advocating the separation of the region from Namibia. stating that their only fight is for land and nothing else.