WINDHOEK – The Landless Peoples’ Movement (LPM) yesterday became the first “political” movement to turn down an invitation by government to the Second National Land Conference schedule for next week.

The boycott was announced by Landless Peoples’ Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swaartbooi during a press conference, saying that as it stands, the Second National Land Conference will just be a “political gimmick”.

Also, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader, McHenry Venaani on Tuesday during a press conference here said “The whole organisation of this national land conference is organised in such a way that it has a predetermined outcome, that is very wrong, so we clinically watching the marginalization as they are unfolding and between the next few days we will have different kinds of positions.”

“We are not going to be part and parcel of a land conference where institutions are going to be used as rubberstamps on a predetermined outcome, we must go there to converse and interact with our country, to be mature, to raise above pettiness, to address history in its order, but if the ruling party is saying we are going to that conference to spend N$50 million on a predetermined outcome then we will also consider our position,” said Venaani.

Swaartbooi on his part said they have studied the invitation and they demanded that Minister of Land Reform Utoni Nujoma be removed to ensure that as a country, they are able to work together to strengthen land reform initiatives in a productive and responsible manner. 

He said LPM also requested government to release the master list of resettled farmers so that in the interests of the country, they are able to judge the fairness of the re-distribution of land in Namibia. 

Swaartbooi said it is for those reasons that they will not be able to take part in the National Land Conference.
Also, Swaartbooi said currently, ancestral land is not elevated to a thematic area, in order to be fully engaged by delegates. 
“In the absence of ancestral land being a thematic area of this conference, LPM finds no interest to participate,” said the outspoken former Deputy Minister of Land Reform.