WELGEMOED – Nine families who were evicted from a Welgemoed farm four years ago, have pleaded with government to speed up their resettlement process.
Farm Welgemoed is a resettlement farm situated in the Windhoek Rural Constituency, about 75 km west of Windhoek were evicted farmworkers from Farm Friededaal have been squatting since 2010.
When New Era visited the farm yesterday there were about nine families that include twelve children aged between six and 12.
New Era understands the children do not attend school.
The families have been illegally living on a nearby resettlement farm for the past two years, having initially lived by the road side for two years after their eviction from farm Friededaal in 2010.
They moved to farm Welgemoed after friends and relatives living on that farm invited them to live on the farm while awaiting for government to resettle them.
According to a translator, the families were evicted from farm Friededaal after it was bought by Anton Lobster in 2010.
One of the squatter at the farm, Maria Rooi (71) explained the dire situation they find themselves in, emphasising that “apartheid is still rife in the area” and they still live like they did before Namibia’s independence 24 years ago.
“I have been living on this farm [Friededaal] since I was born,” she said.
However, Rooi said there was a time when they were offered resettlement farms in the Gobabis area but they refused to relocate that far.
“How can they resettle us in Gobabis? I have been living all my life around these farms, my father and mother were buried here and my whole life is here,” the pensioner said.
Rooi says all they need for now is a piece of land they can call home.
“We have been living like this for the past four years and as you can see all of us are not getting any younger, that’s why we want land before we die,” she said.
The families are requesting government to come up with a quick solution.
“People from as far as Otjimbingue have been resettled here but government wants to take us to the areas of Gobabis, why can’t they take them to Gobabis and resettle us here?”, asked Andalize Swartz.
Apart from that, the families complain of the lack of basic amenities such as clinic and schools.
“We have children around this farms, some as young as 12 who are forced into work due to the lack of educational facilities in the areas,” said Swartz.
Swartz says they do not even see the reason of participating in this year’s election since their situation has always stayed the same after the previous election.
“As you can see we have all registered to vote for this year, but with the situation we are in we don’t see the reason of voting,” she said.
Contacted for comment, Ministry of Land and Resettlement’s Regional Programme Director, Alfred Sikopo said he was not aware of any farmworkers squatting at farm Welgemoed.
He urged anyone looking for resettlement to apply from the ministry so that government can look into their plight.
“We resettle all Namibians, it doesn’t matter where you come from, even if you are from Kavango we can resettle you in Omaheke,” he said.