Govt appeals for calm in the Kavango Region

GOVERNMENT yesterday called on all parties involved in the range dispute in the western part of the Kavango Region to refrain from violence, while urging all those who had illegally settled in the area to withdraw from it.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told a press conference in Windhoek that Government plans to identify and engage cattle owners “in order to find a lasting solution to the problem of illegal grazing in the Western Kavango”. Kwanyama and Ndonga cattle farmers have long been in conflict with Kwangali communities.The farmers are said to be illegally grazing their cattle there.More recently, Oshiwambo-speaking farmers claimed that their kraals were being burnt and their water poisoned.Nandi-Ndaitwah said the problem appeared to be seasonal, always cropping up during the drier periods of the year when there was more competition for grazing.Although Government recognised the right of all Namibians to settle anywhere in the country, Nandi-Ndaitwah said any settlement had to be done in accordance with rules and laws.”Therefore,” she said, “those who want to settle in the Western Kavango must apply to the Kwangali Traditional Authority.”Originally, the Kavango Traditional Authority agreed to assist Kwanyama and Ndonga farmers from the former Owamboland by allocating them grazing areas, but Oshiwambo-speaking farmers are reportedly settling on more land than was agreed upon.Oshiwambo-speaking farmers have complained that richer farmers in their regions had fenced off large areas of rangeland, leaving little grazing for their livestock.Nandi-Ndaitwah said Government had removed some of these illegal fences, but they had to take into account that some fences had been put up with the permission of traditional authorities.Thus it took time to verify which fences were illegal, she said.She could not give a specific date when a concrete solution would be on the table, saying that it was not known how many people were letting their cattle graze illegally in Kavango.”We just hope that soon the rain will come and there will be no pressure,” she said.Addressing reports that some senior Government officials had moved their cattle into Western Kavango, the minister said these cases would be treated the same as any other.”The whole issue will be looked at in its totality,” she said.On Tuesday, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) called on Government to take immediate action to prevent ethnic conflict between Oshiwambo- and Rukavango-speaking communities in the Kavango communal area.Also on Tuesday, President Hifikepunye Pohamba ordered the Kavango Governor, John Thighuru, to urgently investigate the tension in the region.Kwanyama and Ndonga cattle farmers have long been in conflict with Kwangali communities.The farmers are said to be illegally grazing their cattle there.More recently, Oshiwambo-speaking farmers claimed that their kraals were being burnt and their water poisoned.Nandi-Ndaitwah said the problem appeared to be seasonal, always cropping up during the drier periods of the year when there was more competition for grazing.Although Government recognised the right of all Namibians to settle anywhere in the country, Nandi-Ndaitwah said any settlement had to be done in accordance with rules and laws.”Therefore,” she said, “those who want to settle in the Western Kavango must apply to the Kwangali Traditional Authority.”Originally, the Kavango Traditional Authority agreed to assist Kwanyama and Ndonga farmers from the former Owamboland by allocating them grazing areas, but Oshiwambo-speaking farmers are reportedly settling on more land than was agreed upon.Oshiwambo-speaking farmers have complained that richer farmers in their regions had fenced off large areas of rangeland, leaving little grazing for their livestock.Nandi-Ndaitwah said Government had removed some of these illegal fences, but they had to take into account that some fences had been put up with the permission of traditional authorities.Thus it took time to verify which fences were illegal, she said.She could not give a specific date when a concrete solution would be on the table, saying that it was not known how many people were letting their cattle graze illegally in Kavango.”We just hope that soon the rain will come and there will be no pressure,” she said.Addressing reports that some senior Government officials had moved their cattle into Western Kavango, the minister said these cases would be treated the same as any other.”The whole issue will be looked at in its totality,” she said.On Tuesday, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) called on Government to take immediate action to prevent ethnic conflict between Oshiwambo- and Rukavango-speaking communities in the Kavango communal area.Also on Tuesday, President Hifikepunye Pohamba ordered the Kavango Governor, John Thighuru, to urgently investigate the tension in the region.