Namibia: Opinion – the Land Acquisition Saga in Namibia

One of the compelling factors which sent many Namibians into exile to wage the war of the liberation struggle was land acquisition.

This was because much of the arable land in the country was grabbed by the colonisers, and the owners became destitute and landless in their own Motherland.

Knight and Newman (1976) assert that Black Africa has suffered more severely from alien impact than any other part of the world.

First came the slave trade, which took away millions and degraded both the people and the land. After so many centuries, no reparations have been paid for the loss and inhumane treatment of these people, who were sold in slavery.

In addition, no records of many of these people were kept.

As a result, they simply evaporated and ceased to exist as people.

Later came European colonialism with its suppression of the indigenous evolution of society and polity.

Then came the myth of the ‘Dark Continent’ awaiting the arrival of European culture, technology and religion to lift the African people from their state of savagery.

If anything, the Western powers have demonstrated their worst savagery in all forms even after sowing the Seed of the Good News, by constantly treating and humiliating Africans as non-human beings.

As Mazrui (1986), in his series ‘The Africans: A Triple Heritage’, puts it, ‘it is Europeans who were supposed to be civilised, not Africans’.

During this period, black Namibians were declared non-existent, fictional or imaginary human beings or mere objects and their land uninhabited, in keeping with European racist arrogance (Moleah, 1983).

This state of affairs should have changed at the dawn of Independence, but alas, things went contrary to the people’s expectations.

Land acquisition and land reform in Namibia are major economic, social and political issues rooted in the country’s colonial history.

However, historical imbalances persist: previously advantaged groups hold around 70% of freehold agricultural land, while previously disadvantaged Namibians own a smaller share.

The Resettlement Programme, where the government acquires commercial agricultural farms, historically via a ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ model, to resettle previously disadvantaged Namibians who lack farming land, is faltering and failing because landowners are reluctant to surrender their land.

In a similar vein, there are malpractices in the manner in which the land is being allocated according to the policy.

Many people have been applying through the scheme, but only a fraction of the previously disadvantaged persons have been successful in getting the meagre land.

Despite Namibia having advanced sweeping land reform policies and bills to introduce preferential State purchasing rights for commercial agricultural land, little has been achieved in this regard as Namibians continue to hunt for land they fought for.

What is surprising is that, despite the vast land mass Namibia has in relation to its smaller population, many people are still thirsty for land.

Although under recent legal frameworks and proposed laws, in which foreign nationals are largely restricted from acquiring commercial agricultural or communal land, there are still quite a number of absentee landlords in the country, while local Namibians cannot afford to buy land in their own country.

Yet, Article 16 of the Namibian Constitution guarantees all persons the right to acquire, own and dispose of property.

The State or a legally authorised body may expropriate property, but only if it is in the public interest.

This is where it becomes a real saga for people who went to war to come and get their land back, yet the State cannot simply seize land through legal means.

Expropriation requires the payment of just compensation, and the terms must be dictated by specific laws passed by Parliament.

One would have thought that after 36 years of Independence, the Namibian Parliament would have legislated a law prescribing the procedures for expropriating land in the event of the previously advantaged people refusing to give up some of the numerous farms they cunningly inherited, if not grabbed, from the indigenous Namibians.

Article 23 is clear and empowers and allows Parliament to enact legislation aimed at redressing the social, economic and educational imbalances caused by past discriminatory laws and practices.

This article provides the constitutional backing for land reform, the Resettlement Programme and preferential land allocation to previously disadvantaged Namibians.

The ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ dilemma, on which Article 16 is based to protect property, and on which early post-independence land reform relied heavily on voluntary commercial transactions, has slowed down and cannot be entertained.

What is needed is a more radical process in which the landless are allocated land, as Namibia cannot afford to harbour people who are being pushed around because they have nowhere to go and live in the country they call home.

By New Era.