WINDHOEK - The National Disability Council of Namibia has welcomed the land conference consensus resolution that any land board to be established must include youth, persons with disabilities, war veterans and women representation.
This resolution falls under the identified topical issues on land allocation and administration by traditional authorities and communal land boards.
National Disability Council of Namibia Head of Department: Research and Development, Tjiueza Tjombumbi, represented persons with disabilities at the land conference.
The National Disability Council of Namibia represents about 100 000 persons with disabilities in Namibia as per the 2011 Housing and Population Census and more than 300 000 affected persons who include families and communities they live in, totalling the representation of the interest population to more than 400 000 Namibians.
“I thank the President for allowing open dialogue and for everyone to exercise their right of speech without intimidation, fear or favour. His experience in chairing the constitutional legislative speaks volumes. Our request to have inclusion of persons with disabilities was welcomed, and now is part of the conference,” Tjombumbi reacted yesterday to the land resolutions.
He also commended government for adopting other important resolutions which include reviewing resettlement policies, having capacity-developed programmes, tenure system to be reviewed and to have tailor-made support packages.
“These are crucial matters and I firmly believe that our government will take my presentation, on behalf of all persons with disabilities in Namibia, very seriously especially during the review period,” he said.
He noted that the Namibian society looks upon the government to ensure that it lives up to its expectations in implementing these resolutions.
Tjombumbi said this can be achieved through co-cooperating with the government in harmony.
“Threats, intimidation and boycotting government do not help us at all. The skills and knowledge of all the Namibian society must be utilised for nation-building and not to distract the peace we are enjoying. I am expecting every stakeholder to develop an own monitoring system to monitor government so that it can hold government unaccountable,” he suggested.
He also expects international partners to review their operating systems in order to realign their plans and activities with the resolutions of the land conference.
According to him, the world institutions should come on board and assist the Namibian government to achieve the land conference resolutions.
Tjombumbi said the land conference resolutions should be implemented within the shortest possible time. In fact, he said, these resolutions should be part of the Swapo Party manifesto for the 2019 national elections.
Before the conference ended, the council demanded that the government ensures self-representation of persons with disabilities on all structures and platforms related to land in both communal, commercial, urban and resettlement programmes.
This self-representation to be done through the government institutions such as the National Disability Council of Namibia as prescribed by its enabling Act No 26 of 2006, Section 4 (C). They demanded that all government structures consult government structures that directly administer disability matters such as the Disability Department in the Presidency and the National Disability Council of Namibia, and also civil society organisations.
“Nothing about us, without us,” he said.