Fencing In And Fencing Off

THE reporting of The Namibian newspaper on ‘illegal fencing in communal land (areas)’ is confusing.

Reference is made here to your report again on this matter in your edition of 19 January 2012, on page 3, about the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Tjekero Tweya, fencing off a portion of communal land.You need to clarify the difference between fencing off and fencing in, because traditionally we in the northern regions fence in (ohatuumbu) our lands (omapya) that are lawfully allocated to us by traditional leaders with ‘ongubu or eengubu’ to protect our produce such as mahangu from being grazed on by livestock, especially during cultivation season (November to May usually) and to demarcate their boundaries.Now what fencing off of communal land do you refer to? You are confusing us. Can’t we continue to fence in our mahangu fields as we have been doing for decades if not centuries?Or maybe the Communal Land Act is being misinterpreted or needs to be amended because it seems it contradicts traditional practice in northern areas.Please clarify this matter for the sake of the public and if parliament needs to look into this law, it should do so before further confusion is created and spread.In addition, all farms in Namibia, be they in commercial or communal land, have fences, I believe for the same purposes of protection and demarcation. What do you really mean with your reporting on this matter?El VaqueritoWindhoek, NamibiaNote: This matter is best explained by the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement and other authorities that deal with the allocation of land. Our role is to point out anomalies and raise questions for the public benefit. – Ed