Selma Gumbo
OPUWO - Information on how some resettlement farms are successful while others are non-functional was divulged during a working session between the Kunene Regional Governor Marius Sheya and rural residents of Outjo and Kamanjab resettled on farms in the vicinity of Outjo and Kamanjab farms
The initial purpose of the government to resettle people, who do not have land, was for them to become self-sustainable be it in agriculture farming or animal husbandly.
But looking at some farmers in Kunene south who got resettlement farms, some of them are not making any progress.
In Kamanjab Constituency at Namatanga resettlement farm which was the first farm the government purchased and resettled some communities, many of them from the San community there is a different story to narrate in this farm.
According to people resettled there, more than one family was resettled in one demarcated portion which made it very difficult for them to survive when it came to grazing of their livestock and the farm is overcrowded such that some people are just there doing nothing.
Councillor for Kamanjab Constituency Egenesia Tjaritje Esingue explained to the governor “l even went as far as the ministry of land reform to be provided with the list of names of the people who are resettled at Namatanga but all my efforts were in vain.
Pastor Paul /Goa-goseb one of the resettled farmers at Namatanga said, “Most of the people who reside in Namatanga do not have permission or allotment letters from the Ministry of Land Reform because only one person per demarcated land is given a letter, in other cases, people with allotment/ permission bring in some other people and settle together there, that is why this farm is overcrowded like this and water supply has become a problem because the boreholes which are here are no more sufficient because of the bigger population and the rehabilitation of the boreholes has never been done ever since.”
Other resettlement Farms such as Tsumamas in Kamanjab and Balalaika in Outjo Constituency are doing well, they are doing animal husbandly and green scheme projects and it is promising. At Tsumamas there is a group of youth under the leadership of Danster, Hendricks and Hartley which forms Bros Trading cc. Bros is involved in many projects such as raising pigs, chickens, maize and lucerne planting as well Karakul sheep farming with the purpose of selling Swakara product abroad. Balalaika in Outgo Constituency has booming community garden where they have planted a variety of vegetables such as maize, tomatoes, and green peppers. There is a wood harvesting project which produce wood and charcoal which they sell to towns like Walvis Bay and Henties Bay.
Governor Marius Sheya was impressed with those resettlement farms because they were assisted by the government through their constituency officers. “You should look after the equipment that you were provided with because you will not be assisted for the second time since they are a lot of people in our community which need assistance,” Sheya emphasised further.
*Selma Gumbo is an Information Officer working for the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology in Kunene Region.