Land expropriation ‘may aggravate rich-poor gap’

GOVERNMENT’S announcement that it plans to expropriate farms has drawn mixed reactions.

While the Namibia National Farmers’ Union (NNFU) and the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said the move was long overdue, the South West Africa People’s Democratic United Front (Swapduf) said it feared that it would widen the gap between the rich and poor through corrupt resettlement programmes. NNFU Executive Director Paul Vleermuis said in a statement that the willing-seller, willing-buyer principle had failed and it was time for Government to expropriate.Without elaborating, Vleermuis said expropriation would benefit the small-scale farmer.Swapduf Secretary General Edward !Aoxamub differed with Vleermuis.He said rich and poor would be in the same queue for resettlement and that he feared that the weaker members of the society, who had not benefited during the past 14 years, would again come off worse.”The distribution of land cannot be entrusted to this Government and its so-called land resettlement committees because intolerance, prejudice, discord and friction amongst our people caused by unfair distribution of wealth and opportunities has become the order of the day in this country,” !Aoxamub said.He also cautioned Government to handle the farmers from whom land would be expropriated with care.The NSHR said there was a misleading impression that equated ownership of white-owned commercial farms with the eradication of poverty.The rights organisation said Government was not qualified to act in the public interest because it had a bad track record.Among the reasons cited were that human development over the last 13 years had been poor (widening income disparities) while Government had been slow to enact public interest laws such as those governing minimum wages, affirmative action, combating of corruption and children’s rights.”However, legislative priority was given to passing laws that were either politically expedient or made it easier for the governing elite to enrich itself through either State employment or assuming control of lucrative businesses in the construction, commercial farming, banking, fishing, hotel and casino, mining, printing and transportation sectors, to mention just a few,” the NSHR said.NNFU Executive Director Paul Vleermuis said in a statement that the willing-seller, willing-buyer principle had failed and it was time for Government to expropriate.Without elaborating, Vleermuis said expropriation would benefit the small-scale farmer.Swapduf Secretary General Edward !Aoxamub differed with Vleermuis.He said rich and poor would be in the same queue for resettlement and that he feared that the weaker members of the society, who had not benefited during the past 14 years, would again come off worse.”The distribution of land cannot be entrusted to this Government and its so-called land resettlement committees because intolerance, prejudice, discord and friction amongst our people caused by unfair distribution of wealth and opportunities has become the order of the day in this country,” !Aoxamub said.He also cautioned Government to handle the farmers from whom land would be expropriated with care.The NSHR said there was a misleading impression that equated ownership of white-owned commercial farms with the eradication of poverty.The rights organisation said Government was not qualified to act in the public interest because it had a bad track record.Among the reasons cited were that human development over the last 13 years had been poor (widening income disparities) while Government had been slow to enact public interest laws such as those governing minimum wages, affirmative action, combating of corruption and children’s rights.”However, legislative priority was given to passing laws that were either politically expedient or made it easier for the governing elite to enrich itself through either State employment or assuming control of lucrative businesses in the construction, commercial farming, banking, fishing, hotel and casino, mining, printing and transportation sectors, to mention just a few,” the NSHR said.