| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| You Are Here: |
Local News  |
| Local |
|
Wednesday, April 24, 2002 - Web posted at 9:47:05 pm GMT Swapo MPs say Germany, SA must help on land issueCHRISTOF MALETSKYSWAPO has called on Germany and South Africa, Namibia's former colonisers, to contribute towards Government's land reform programme. Speaking during debate on the proposed land tax in the National Assembly on Monday, Swapo MP Dr Kaire Mbuende said Germany must pump money into the resettlement programme since it contributed to the unequal distribution of land in Namibia. He said it was unfair to ask the democratic SA government to contribute since they were not the colonisers of Namibia. Mbuende's statement provoked instant reaction from Agriculture Minister Helmut Angula who argued that the current SA was built "with the blood of Namibians". "Just because it is a black government we cannot excuse them. Any successor must live up to the obligations of the previous government. What if there is a white [SA] government tomorrow," asked Angula. Mbuende said the current SA government wrote off Namibia's colonial debt and argued that the "broederbond should pay". Last year Namibia approached Germany, through Prime Minister Hage Geingob, to fund the resettlement programme but Berlin indicated it could only help with training resettled farmers. For his part, Justice Minister Ngarikutuke Tjiriange argued that absentee landlords be charged higher tax than the proposed one per cent per hectare. "Nobody here (in Namibia) is interested in seeing a kudu," he said, adding that absentee landlords "scored big" on foreign tourists. "Over and above all, the visitors pay everything in Germany and come with coupons. We never see the money here. I say, target the right people, not the victims," Tjiriange said in response to the 0,75 per cent tax on Namibian commercial farmers, which include some blacks. Health Deputy Minister Richard Kamwi proposed that the tax on absentee landlords be raised to two per cent and be increased by 0,5 per cent every other year. He said the 0,75 per cent for Namibian commercial farmers was a discouragement and should be scrapped. Rosa Namises of the Congress of Democrats said some black Namibians who benefited through the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme could no longer be categorised as previously disadvantaged and should be taxed on an equal basis with other Namibian commercial farmers. She called for tax exemptions for churches and welfare organisations who used their land for welfare projects and appealed to the State to exempt farmers affected by natural disasters. |
  |
PO Box 20783 - Windhoek - 42 John Meinert Street Tel: +264 (61) 236970 - Fax: +264 (61) 233980 e-mail:info@namibian.com.na webmaster@namibian.com.na
|
