WINDHOEK – The Ministry of Lands and Resettlement has rejected the perception that government is trying to ‘wholesale communal land’ for acquisition by foreign nationals.
The Ministry of Lands and Resettlemet says this notion is wrong and misleading.
Clarifying the matter on Monday, Ester Lusepani, the Deputy Permanent Secretary for Land Reform and Resettlement said government is rather trying to close existing loopholes and bring an end to bribery within traditional authorities when it comes to chiefs selling off huge tracts of land to foreigners at the expense of local communities. She said government has restricted foreign nationals from acquiring customary land rights.
People have resorted to the airwaves of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) seeking clarity on the communal amendment bill which was recently debated in the National Assembly.
In the past traditional authorities had full powers in their respective areas to sell land to investors or foreign nationals without seeking the approval of the Minister of Lands and Resettlement.
Such a situation led to a recent case where traditional authorities in the north-east allocated over 90 000 hectares to a foreign company to plant jatropha.
The traditional authorities were not aware of the actual size and extent of the allocation that was made because they could not comprehend the size in hectares, hence the restrictions by the ministry to ensure communal land residents are not dispossessed.
However, the Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Alpheus !Naruseb, also made it clear in parliament that customary land rights that the communities in the communal areas are entitled to should not be made available to foreign nationals and other elites.
“The restriction on foreign nationals not to acquire customary land rights and to access leasehold rights only after approval has been granted by the minister responsible for land affairs is in order,” he explained.
However, he clarified that the restriction is not meant to limit the power of allocation of land by traditional authorities but rather for checks and balances. He added that the applicants for parcels of land that is above 50 hectares will still be expected to motivate their applications and get letters of recommendation from the headman or headwoman and the chief before the application is forwarded to the minister for approval.
“It is worth mentioning that the minister’s approval or disapproval of any application will be based on the recommendation of both the village head or chief of the traditional authority,” he noted.
The minister said such restriction is to ensure that each application by a foreign national is evaluated against sets of criteria before granting such right.
“For example, will the use of land by the foreigner add value as far as creation of employment and poverty alleviation is concerned,” said !Naruseb.
Lusepani also explained the issue of the 20/50 hectares (ha) to be allocated by the traditional authorities as per the new amendment Act regarding communal land.
“The new Amendment Act for Communal Land now allows traditional authorities to allocate up to 50 ha of land without the consent of the minister. But above the 50 ha, the traditional authorities need the consent of the minister,” she noted.
She said government is not trying to restrict people from acquiring communal land, but the procedure is simply for control to avoid individuals fencing off large areas leaving others with nothing.
“If there is land available, the minister can approve more than 50 hectares. In areas such as Oshana region, there is a scarcity of land. Therefore the traditional authority there can say they can allocate lesser units of land whereas in Kavango and Zambezi regions, for example, where they have a lot of land they can say why are we restricted to the 50 ha, why can’t we allocate more,” she maintained.
Some quarters of society have also raised their concerns about having another national land conference and the government resettling unproductive people on its resettlement farms.
Dr Nashilongo Shivute, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Lands Management and Administration said land reform not only addresses the political agenda but also the social aspect of resettlement.
“If you look only at productivity which we want, it is not the beginning of the process. Our beginning is to ensure that people learn how to farm first before they produce. Even if we have given the farms to people who cannot farm, then we have met the objective of resettling people previously disadvantaged,” she said.
Lusepani added: “How many years have the land been in the hands of colonisers for them to succeed? It is hundreds of years, so it a wrong analysis to say people are not being productive on the resettlement farms if for example they don’t have cattle.”
Regarding the land conference, Shivute said the first conference held in 1991 was a demand of the Namibian people.
“So we need to find out what people want with special interest to women, youth, the marginalised communities and everyone without land. A lot of work needs to be done before we sit and deliberate. There is a lot in the pipeline and government is ready and always responsive to people’s demands,” she explained.
By Albertina Nakale