DEPUTY prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has urged members of the public to unite and approach the upcoming land conference with alert minds. She made these remarks on Sunday at the 2018 Batshara cultural festival at the Sangwali village in the Zambezi region.
The Batshara cultural festival is an annual event of the Mayeyi tribe under the leadership of chief Shikati Boniface Shufu, which is aimed at celebrating their cultural heritage and keeping it alive for future generations.
The festival, which was attended by hundreds of people from all walks of life, was themed “Enhancing Peace, Unity and Self-reliance”.
“Land is a very important national asset, being the basis of human livelihood. The land question in Namibia is very serious because we lost much of our land in a most dehumanising manner; a manner that no Namibian can take the blame for as one way or another, we were all targets of the colonisers. Therefore, as we approach the land conference, we must prepare ourselves to come out stronger and united as a nation as land is part of our ecosystem,” she stated.
She said if there is anything which can make the former colonisers happy, it is to see Namibians fighting among themselves at the expense of peace, stability and socio-economic development. “Let the recommendations from the second land conference help us on how fairly we can accommodate each other, and live a decent life in our beloved Namibia,” she noted.
Nandi-Ndaitwah further urged traditional leaders to guard against tribalism so that the people do not fall prey to such behaviour.
“As a nation, we should not use our cultural diversity to perpetuate tribalism, but it must be used to stimulate our innovative capabilities to eradicate poverty. Since independence, Namibia’s peace and stability have been admired internationally.
“However, what has to be known as a nation collectively is that we have worked for that peace and stability. We should not take our peace for granted, but must make use of our traditions and cultures to consolidate that peace in a united and democratic Namibia,” she advised. She said during the struggle for national independence, the Zambezi region was referred to as the potential breadbasket of Namibia due to its weather and geographic position along perennial rivers.
This needs to become a reality for the country to be self-reliant, and traditional authorities must work hard in partnering with the government by allocating land and motivating people to invest in food production.
“We have many young people who have graduated in the area of agriculture in both animal and crop production. These people must be encouraged to create the necessary jobs, and take our people out of poverty. Under Vision 2030, Namibia has set herself up to be an industrialised country. And if history has taught us anything, it is that agriculture is the main engine of industrialisation,” she added.
Chief Shufu, who also addressed the people at the festival, urged the land reform ministry to speed up the process of issuing the necessary certificates to those who have applied to own land.
“I wish to thank the land reform ministry for organising the land conference because it is only through consultations with the people that the land issue in our country can be properly addressed. I wish to caution those who are fighting for land to desist from such practices, and to go through established channels to acquire such land,” he stressed.
