A web of not-so-cunning treachery is discernable on the trail of our reporter’s investigation into the bigger scheme of things afflicting the Omaheke resettlement programme. Small wonder no one – not even the ministry concerned and the local Resettlement Committee – has had the guts to dispel or explain the numerous maladies that besiege this programme in that region. The lid is off the simmering pot that is the resettlement programme in Omaheke. It is now more than clear that the programme is mired in intractable chaos. Initially, many people thought the issue was simply one of the programme being mismanaged. It now transpires that the problem of resettlement in Omaheke – and perhaps other regions – is more than just mismanagement. It goes deeper, and points to a well-hatched scheme whose tentacles are far-reaching. Our reporter, who has been investigating the goings-on in Omaheke, has knocked at every official door, including the high offices in Windhoek, in search of explanations on the numerous allegations raised by people residing in that region. His efforts have run into nought – zero. On a second tour of the region, the reporter has now unearthed a complete dossier of very serious charges that bedevil the programme. There is evidence that government farms are being plundered before those being resettled move in. Acquired farms are allowed to remain vacant for long periods before the new occupants move in. In one such case, a farm has been lying vacant for five years without the new owner taking over. There is no explanation for this rather pathetic situation. But worst of all, thieves are helping themselves to whatever is on these farms. Seemingly, there is no one to take stock and safeguard valuable infrastructure on these farms. There is a complete breakdown of responsibility. The programme, it would appear, is being handled willy-nilly by a single official without the necessary checks and balances as well as proper supervision and inspections from his superiors in Windhoek. If there were, things would have been different. It turns out that the official in charge of resettlement in the Omaheke region has been recruiting volunteers to look after these farms with the promissory note that they would get portions of the land they are guarding as payment. One such person, Simon Atobita, claims that the official in charge of resettlement told him to lie to resettlement officials by telling them he had worked on the farm for years so that he is resettled. “If officials from the ministry come for an inspection, just say you worked for the previous owner for six years and they will consider you for resettlement”, he claims he was told. After working as a guard at the farm for eight months, with no pay and no food, Atobita says he was quietly pushed aside and a relative of the resettlement official put in charge of the farm, possibly with the same promise. Atobita has now laid a charge against government. Yet another shocking story is the discovery of stolen corrugated zinc sheets and farm gates at a farm where the official has been resettled. The official conceded to our reporter that the goods were stolen although he distanced himself from the act. Another government employee confessed he brought the goods to the farm with the intention of asking the resettlement official if he could have them. Numerous allegations have been made about portions of resettlement farms being taken over by some powerful persons from those for whom they were intended, and contrary to the law. Since the exposure of theft at farms in Omaheke, we have received calls from members of the public who say similar acts of plunder of government farms have taken place in the areas of Otjiwarongo and Grootfontein. As a newspaper, we feel we have done our part, and will continue to expose some of the maladies in the resettlement programme in Omaheke and other regions. But it is also time that the police and the anti corruption agency enter the fray and sort out this mess. If the ministry cannot act on this very serious matter, others must. Theft of public goods is taking place right under the noses of those charged with safeguarding them. This is unacceptable. Besides, theft of infrastructure on the farms has negative consequences for the entire agricultural industry. Stripping bare prime farms from where export beef and other foodstuffs are produced, is tantamount to economic sabotage. Agriculture is the one industry that provides a livelihood for so many people, including jobs. Running the industry down is simply unthinkable.