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Wednesday, April 24, 2002 - Web posted at 9:47:04 pm GMT

'State should own the land'

A SWAPO Member of Parliament says all land in Namibia should be placed under the ownership of the State so as to provide equal rights and opportunities to all Namibians.

Speaking during debate on the Land Tax Bill in the National Assembly on Monday, Deputy Environment and Tourism Minister Peter Iilonga said placing 'the entire land ownership' under the State would enable all Namibians to have equal rights and opportunities to own land through lease or rental land tenure system from Government.

"Only then can we talk about equitable or uniform Land Tax and other land benefits in the country," said the outspoken former trade union leader.

Iilonga said he was concerned about the achievement of "equity" in Land Tax, particularly when it came to communal areas.

"Communal land belongs to the State and those occupying it are renting it from the State. Commercial farmland is privately owned and does not belong to the State. How can there be equity in taxing these two systems in the same way," he asked.

Iilonga said Land Tax should not be "diluted" to overshadow the provisions of Article 16, sub-section 2, of the Constitution which empowers Government to repossess land if owners fail to comply with the relevant legislation or policies.

He said while he supported tax on commercial farmlands, the rate of tax on land owned by absentee landlords should be raised to at least 2,5 per cent, per hectare.

The MP said the tax rate on commercial farmland owned by Namibians, should remain at 0,75 per cent and these rates should not be imposed on land units or groups but rather per hectare of land owned.

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