Govt accelerates expropriation

GOVERNMENT has served expropriation notices on more commercial farmers despite a request from the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) that it hold off until certain criteria are clarified.

The union had requested Government to elaborate on what it means by “just compensation” and “public interest” before targeting more farms. Speaking to The Namibian from his farm on Monday, NAU President Jan de Wet said he was aware of 19 commercial farmers who had received expropriation notices from the State.Almost two months ago, Government agreed to extend a deadline to allow some farmers to make an offer to sell their property.The NAU set June 30 as the date when its leadership was expected to table a document, compiled by a team of experts, to help farmers and the Government through expropriation procedures.LANDS TIGHTLIPPEDDe Wet said the document had been tabled but Government had served the notices as soon as the NAU provided it with the document.”The Government invited the farmers to talk to them.They told them that their farms had been identified and they needed to name the price,” De Wet said.Yesterday, an official in the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation declined to confirm or deny the latest developments.”If we give information, it should be for all [the media].We are not willing to comment on that one,” the official said.This was despite promises from Minister of Lands Hifikepunye Pohamba and Permanent Secretary Frans Tsheehama that information on the land issue and lists of those who would be resettled would be readily made available to The Namibian.One farmer said Government sent out notices stating that the farmers were “invited to make an offer to sell the property to the State and to enter into further negotiations in that regard”.It warned the farmers that the matter was serious and gave them 14 days to react to the notice.As a result, De Wet said, some farmers had started cancelling plans to develop their land because they did not know what awaited them and the process was negatively affecting the national economy.Government has repeatedly stressed that it would stick to letter of the law in pursuing expropriation, although some sections of the ruling Swapo Party and its affiliated unions have called for land grabs.Recently a group of farmers from the Otjiwarongo district pushed for a motion to call on the international community to pressurise Government to implement its land reform programme “responsibly”.De Wet and his leadership rejected the motion.Yesterday he said all NAU efforts would be geared towards a peaceful resolution of the land issue in Namibia.De Wet said the NAU was not there to confront Government, but rather to consult with them.Farmers are expected to name a price for their land and hope that it meets with Government approval.Where agreement cannot be reached, Government can expropriate the land and pay the farmer an amount it considers to be “just”.Government argues that almost half of Namibia’s land, including the best arable plots, are owned by about 4 000 mostly white farmers.However, during a recent trip to the Maize Triangle, The Namibian established that more than 45 per cent of the farms in that area had since changed hands while 67 per cent of total arable land in Namibia was under black ownership.Speaking to The Namibian from his farm on Monday, NAU President Jan de Wet said he was aware of 19 commercial farmers who had received expropriation notices from the State.Almost two months ago, Government agreed to extend a deadline to allow some farmers to make an offer to sell their property.The NAU set June 30 as the date when its leadership was expected to table a document, compiled by a team of experts, to help farmers and the Government through expropriation procedures.LANDS TIGHTLIPPEDDe Wet said the document had been tabled but Government had served the notices as soon as the NAU provided it with the document.”The Government invited the farmers to talk to them.They told them that their farms had been identified and they needed to name the price,” De Wet said.Yesterday, an official in the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation declined to confirm or deny the latest developments.”If we give information, it should be for all [the media].We are not willing to comment on that one,” the official said.This was despite promises from Minister of Lands Hifikepunye Pohamba and Permanent Secretary Frans Tsheehama that information on the land issue and lists of those who would be resettled would be readily made available to The Namibian.One farmer said Government sent out notices stating that the farmers were “invited to make an offer to sell the property to the State and to enter into further negotiations in that regard”.It warned the farmers that the matter was serious and gave them 14 days to react to the notice.As a result, De Wet said, some farmers had started cancelling plans to develop their land because they did not know what awaited them and the process was negatively affecting the national economy.Government has repeatedly stressed that it would stick to letter of the law in pursuing expropriation, although some sections of the ruling Swapo Party and its affiliated unions have called for land grabs.Recently a group of farmers from the Otjiwarongo district pushed for a motion to call on the international community to pressurise Government to implement its land reform programme “responsibly”.De Wet and his leadership rejected the motion.Yesterday he said all NAU efforts would be geared towards a peaceful resolution of the land issue in Namibia.De Wet said the NAU was not there to confront Government, but rather to consult with them.Farmers are expected to name a price for their land and hope that it meets with Government approval.Where agreement cannot be reached, Government can expropriate the land and pay the farmer an amount it considers to be “just”.Government argues that almost half of Namibia’s land, including the best arable plots, are owned by about 4 000 mostly white farmers.However, during a recent trip to the Maize Triangle, The Namibian established that more than 45 per cent of the farms in that area had since changed hands while 67 per cent of total arable land in Namibia was under black ownership.