SWAKOPMUND – The Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Alpheus!Naruseb says he is strongly considering the extension of the deadline for the registration of existing Customary Land Rights (CLR) to a later date, instead of February 2014.
He said some traditional authorities (TAs) requested the extension since there are still pending disputes that need to be settled by traditional authorities in some communal areas. “I’m in the process of constituting these changes to extend the registration of existing Customary Land Rights to honour your requests,” he said. Naruseb engaged with traditional authorities during the second day of the 16th annual meeting of the Council of Traditional Leaders that is currently underway in Swakopmund. He addressed the issue of land disputes and the allocation of communal land by traditional authorities during the meeting. He said issues pertaining to the TA’s areas of jurisdiction were strongly highlighted by all traditional authorities, as a major cause of the unrest in some traditional communities. He added that such disputes are now a common phenomenon and are hampering the registration of existing land rights and also other developments that are earmarked for the regions.
The minister also highlighted that the main cause of the disputes, is the traditional authorities’ boundaries that are not surveyed or mapped. “Because of this situation it is very difficult to distinguish where their authority ends in terms of communal land rights allocations and registration. The request made to my ministry together with the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development to physically map up boundaries between all recognised traditional authorities is still under discussion between the two ministries,” !Naruseb explained. He went on to say that due to increased population pressure and the dwindling land resource some TA’s approached his ministry and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to demarcate or retract the boundaries of some national parks in order free up enough land for community settlements and to allow communities access to grazing and water.
Some traditional leaders that New Era spoke to on the sidelines of the meeting said they would wholeheartedly welcome the extension, since it would allow them enough time to resolve all disputes that currently exist in their respective jurisdictions. TA’s are still expected to address issues such as the construction of roads in communal areas, rural electrification and the role of traditional leaders in modern Africa during the weeklong consultations. Since its establishment 16 years ago the annual meeting has served as an instrumental platform where government and traditional leaders share ideas and exchange views on issues of nation- building, while discussing critical issues affecting communities with various line ministries.
By Eveline de Klerk