In Namibia, like many African countries, the prioritisation of expanding town boundaries takes precedence over our imperative to preserve rural homes and uphold the social connections cultivated over decades.
The expansion of urban boundaries on the rural is driven by the need for more land to cater for the growing urban population. The World Bank reports that about 56% of the world’s population currently lives in urban areas.
In Namibia, about 56% of the population is urban. The increase in urban population is driven primarily by population growth, increased urbanisation caused by the adverse impacts of climate change in rural areas, and the pursuit of improved opportunities. Even though rural populations are declining, these areas serve as the ideal hubs for retirement, cultural connection, preservation of traditions, and centres for learning about family histories.
Expanding town boundaries should not trump the importance of maintaining rural land rights. Rural land is an essential social safety net because it is an “asset” that enhances the well-being of families. When urban boundaries encroach on rural land, it threatens the protection accorded to families.
Local authorities initiate expropriation with compensation for households occupying rural land when urban boundaries expand, forcing families to alienate cultivation land. During the process of expropriation, households are prevented from constructing any permanent structures or expanding their dwellings. This process can extend for over five years before reaching a final compensation resolution.
Delays typically stem from disputes overcompensation amounts and a shortage of government funds allocated for homeowners’ compensation. However, this process could be transformed to benefit all parties involved if rural land rights were afforded the same level of significance as urban land rights.
Land rights in rural areas are equally important as those in urban areas. The discrepancy in developing and protecting these rights arises from the formal land market’s demands.
Rural areas located on the outskirts of towns often witness a prevalence of informal land transfers occurring outside the formal land administration systems. The demand for land in the urban periphery is motivated by various factors, such as the high land cost in urban areas, control and limitations over land use set by local authorities in towns and general slow land delivery.
One positive outcome of the informal rural land market is the opportunities for self-financed residential housing development in rural areas. Those who construct their homes in rural areas can access bulk water lines, with individual connections often being self-financed.
There is an opportunity here to improve the rural areas and reduce the burden of land delivery in the urban centres by supporting rural land development. The management of land can be improved through the implementation of spatial-based land administration systems. The development of rural areas need not always commence by focusing on job creation through the expansion of agricultural activities or the relocation of industries from towns to villages. It can begin by enhancing road infrastructure to secure access to water and electricity connections. Additionally, emerging technologies offer opportunities to promote e-businesses in rural areas. With a direct internet connection, water, and electricity, one can live comfortably in the village, with reduced cost of housing. Rural schools can serve as innovative havens, offering relief from the urban areas’ hustle and high living costs. Furthermore, when rural schools are outfitted with the latest technology, they can provide students with ample resources to concentrate on their primary goals of learning and innovation. In Namibia’s rural areas, it should not be a challenge for anyone to access a secure internet connection.
The growth of urban areas is inevitable. The laws that promote the reduction of customary land rights upon establishing local authority areas need to be implemented in consultation with landowners in rural areas. Instead of expanding, local and national governments should prioritise rural development for areas on the fringes of towns. This has the advantage of creating employment from emerging technologies that can ignite rural economic development.
In addition, with support in land use planning, it can ensure sustainable land development.
The current approach to expanding urban areas on rural land highlights the dominance of power centralisation. The urban authorities decide and set the pace for how development should take place. In addition, it hampers growth and harms families who must uproot their homesteads. It further erodes social networks and endangers ageing people who rely on close relationships with neighbours. The constitution (article 100) confers ownership of all natural resources in Namibia including land to the state, in exception of that which is lawfully owned. Hence, a fundamental policy shift is imperative. Maintaining rural boundaries and fostering the development of villages can serve as a powerful remedy for the existing strain on urban land delivery systems. The urgency of limiting expansion, enhancement and expediting compensation processes cannot be overstated, as it holds the key to a more equitable and sustainable future for all.
*Menare Royal Mabakeng is a Land Administration lecturer in the Department of Land and Spatial Sciences at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). Her research is at the intersection of people, land, open data, and development. All opinions expressed in this piece are her own.