KEETMANSHOOP – The Deputy Minister of Lands and Resettlement Theo Diergaardt revealed that the ministry is struggling to acquire land to drive the land reform programme because of a shortage of funds.
Diergaardt was motivating a motion in the National Council for the government to approve an amount of N$590 million to carry out all the four programmes in the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement during the current financial year.
He said the redistributive land reform programme continued to be a priority with the demand for land remaining high.
“In order to satisfy this present need for land the ministry has acquired 203 million hectares of land to date. To meet the set target of 5 million hectares by 2020, the ministry is still to acquire 2.7 million hectares, which translates to an annual acquisition target of 280 000 hectares,” he said.
According to Diergaardt the ministry has acquired 18 farms with a total area of 101 252 5281 hectares at a cost of N$142 million and 73 families were resettled on the land.
Diergaardt also revealed that the ministry has rehabilitated fencing on five farms in the //Karas, Oshikoto and Hardap regions.
“To implement the above-stated sub-programme, of fencing infrastructure, the ministry requires an amount of N$394 million,” he explained.
He added that the ministry has collected revenue amounting to N$22 million from tax imposed on commercial farmers and the money will be used to support further land acquisition and development of infrastructure on resettlement farms.
Last week, the vice-chairperson of the National Council, Margaret Mensah-Williams, suggested that Namibia approach the German government for financial assistance to acquire land in Namibia. Land in Namibia is largely owned by whites, including Germans, many of whom do not reside in the country.
By Jemima Beukes