Stefanus Nambara & Elizabeth Hiyolwa

NKURENKURU – Kavango West regional governor Sirkka Ausiku has urged traditional authorities in the region not to allocate communal land without involving community members. 
“The region is appealing to our traditional authorities to consult the affected communities before allocating land,” Ausiku urged during her state of the region address yesterday. 
She stated that land management and administration remain a challenge in the region and needs to be addressed. This is in light of cases of illegal fencing that have been escalating in recent years to date in the communal areas in the region, which has angered many community members, who feel their land is allocated without their consent. 
She said although the Kavango West Regional Council has submitted a report with regard to cases of illegal fencing in the region for deliberations and action to the Kavango East Communal Land Board, which still administers communal land in the region, the problem persists. 
“The region is appealing to the land board to speed up the process, as land matters are always important and urgent,” she stated. 
The governor also raised her dissatisfaction with regards to the Sikondo and the Musese green schemes, where production was halted.  
“These three green schemes are the backbone of our region to make it a food basket for Namibia and beyond. However, the region is disappointed to see them not function as initially intended,” Ausiku said. 
“Therefore, the region is appealing to the line ministry and Agribusdev to make all the green schemes productive and introduce value addition facilities.” 
The governor also encouraged farmers and community members to involve themselves in the consultations with regard to the gradual removal of the red line, which came about as a resolution during the second land conference that was held in 2018. 
“Currently, consultation meetings with stakeholders are underway, and I am appealing to farmers and community members to get involved and make inputs to enable the ministry to make a final decision and start the project,” the governor urged.