Explaining the Communal Land Act in local languages

Translations of a guidebook to the Communal Land Reform Act were launched on Friday.

The guide was translated into six local languages – Khoekhoegowab, Otjiherero, Oshikwanyama, Rukwangali, Silozi and Afrikaans. About 1 500 copies of the guides were printed in each language.The project cost approximately N$200 000 and was mainly sponsored by the GTZ, a German development organisation.At the handover ceremony at the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement, the Director of the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Norman Tjombe, said the translations were done from the original English guide that the LAC compiled in 2003 to explain the law in plain language to communal land boards, traditional authorities, Government and non-governmental organisations.”Since the enactment of that law in 2002, the LAC together with the Lands Ministry provided training for the land boards, technical staff of Government and NGOs as well as Communal Area Conservancies and parallel to that the guide was written,” Tjombe said.The guide proved to be a valuable reference tool but did not reach communities at all levels, since many rural people did not understand English well enough to read the guide.”While most land boards follow the stipulations of the Communal Land Reform Act well, it is sometimes disregarded when it comes to the (unlawful) eviction of widows and minor children from communal land and fencing off large tracts of land illegally,” Tjombe added.”I hope that the translations of the guide into six local languages will accelerate the process where more people, especially residents in communal areas, will be more aware of their rights under the Communal Land Reform Act,” the LAC Director emphasised.Frans Tsheehama, Permanent Secretary in the Lands Ministry said the translations would help more Namibians to better understand the important law.”They will make a meaningful contribution towards the effective and efficient allocation and administration of communal land,” Tsheehama said.He further urged all communal land users to officially register their usage rights of allocated land units with the communal land boards, since the process had been slow.”Registration has been extended to March 2009, leaving only little more than two years to complete the process for communal land rights.The law is clear when it comes to the allocation of unregistered land after the deadline.Traditional authorities and communal land boards are empowered to re-allocate any piece of unregistered land to anyone who applies for it after March 2009,” Tsheehama pointed out.Exceptions would only be made if a current right holder gave valid reasons why he or she could not apply for registration within the deadline.Free copies of the translated versions of the ‘Guide to the Communal Land Reform Act’ are available at the offices of the 12 communal land boards.About 1 500 copies of the guides were printed in each language.The project cost approximately N$200 000 and was mainly sponsored by the GTZ, a German development organisation.At the handover ceremony at the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement, the Director of the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Norman Tjombe, said the translations were done from the original English guide that the LAC compiled in 2003 to explain the law in plain language to communal land boards, traditional authorities, Government and non-governmental organisations.”Since the enactment of that law in 2002, the LAC together with the Lands Ministry provided training for the land boards, technical staff of Government and NGOs as well as Communal Area Conservancies and parallel to that the guide was written,” Tjombe said.The guide proved to be a valuable reference tool but did not reach communities at all levels, since many rural people did not understand English well enough to read the guide.”While most land boards follow the stipulations of the Communal Land Reform Act well, it is sometimes disregarded when it comes to the (unlawful) eviction of widows and minor children from communal land and fencing off large tracts of land illegally,” Tjombe added.”I hope that the translations of the guide into six local languages will accelerate the process where more people, especially residents in communal areas, will be more aware of their rights under the Communal Land Reform Act,” the LAC Director emphasised.Frans Tsheehama, Permanent Secretary in the Lands Ministry said the translations would help more Namibians to better understand the important law.”They will make a meaningful contribution towards the effective and efficient allocation and administration of communal land,” Tsheehama said.He further urged all communal land users to officially register their usage rights of allocated land units with the communal land boards, since the process had been slow.”Registration has been extended to March 2009, leaving only little more than two years to complete the process for communal land rights.The law is clear when it comes to the allocation of unregistered land after the deadline.Traditional authorities and communal land boards are empowered to re-allocate any piece of unregistered land to anyone who applies for it after March 2009,” Tsheehama pointed out.Exceptions would only be made if a current right holder gave valid reasons why he or she could not apply for registration within the deadline.Free copies of the translated versions of the ‘Guide to the Communal Land Reform Act’ are available at the offices of the 12 communal land boards.