By Mbatjiua Ngavirue
WINDHOEK
People are fearful in Omaheke Region. Almost everyone seems to know about one or other irregularity in the region’s resettlement programme, but no one is speaking out.
The regional capital Gobabis, especially, is a small community where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business.
Even those who are genuinely disgruntled with what is happening in the region are afraid of being seen in the company of a newspaper reporter.
People you meet will openly tell you, they do not want to speak about the abuses in the resettlement programme for fear of jeopardizing their own chances of resettlement.
Everyone seems to be conscious that if they cross powerful government officials or politicians, the crust of bread they are precariously clenching between their teeth might be rudely ripped out of their mouths.
The bleak prospect of never seeing another crumb of bread and spending the rest of your life swallowing whatever saliva you have left in your mouth, enforces an almost unbreakable culture of silence and fear in the region.
It was therefore refreshing to speak to Chief Stephanus Gariseb of the #Obani people of the Omaheke – almost the only person in the region willing to speak freely.
Before 2007 there was a long period – some say as many as eight years – during which no resettlement took place in the region.
The government was simply unable to acquire farms on a “willing seller, willing buyer” basis before it announced it would turn to expropriation in February 2004.
Chief Gariseb expressed a great deal of dissatisfaction with the earlier form of the resettlement programme – before government introduced reforms.
The reform package included the creation of Land Tribunals, the Land Commission and Regional Settlement Committees.
“In those years – when government distributed farms such as Kalaharipragt and Dankbaar – only people of a certain ethnic group were resettled. There was chaos, because people were occupying farms illegally,” he said.
In his view, the reforms that government introduced have led to big improvements, but he is still not entirely satisfied with the fairness of the process.
The chief said he personally is not directly aware of any cases of bribery. He, however, mentioned a number of other irregularities in the resettlement programme.
When the Land Commission has finally chosen the successful candidates for resettlement, it sends representatives to the region to publicly announce the names in the presence of local officials.
According to Chief Gariseb, the problems start the minute members of the Land Commission climb into their cars to return to Windhoek. “That’s when the quarrels start,” he says.
The biggest problem they face, he says, is that the local Ministry of Lands and Resettlement office then immediately sets about changing and subverting the decisions of the Land Commission.
“In one case, one man was given four farming units, while three people were put in one unit together. The three people went to complain in Windhoek, but I don’t know how it was resolved,” he said.
He told of an incident involving the local head of the Lands and Resettlement office in the region, Erastus Nghishoono.
Two weeks ago, he said, a woman went to Nghishoono to hand in an application for resettlement.
Nghishoono allegedly asked her why she wanted the government to resettle her again as it had already resettled her at Kalaharipragt.
The woman however protested, asking Nghishoono how he could say they had resettled her when she had no papers as proof.
Chief Gariseb says that from what he knows, Nghishoono gave her neither an application form nor any answer to explain why there is no documentation regarding her resettlement.
“She came to me to ask what she must do in a case such as this, but there was not much I could tell her,” he said.
Despite reform of the resettlement process, Chief Gariseb is not satisfied that the #Obani people are treated equally or fairly as far as distribution of resettlement farms in the region is concerned.