Land Ministry lays into game park dream

THE Ministry of Lands and Resettlement has shot down a South African millionaire’s vision of turning the whole of Namibia into a game park with fenced-in towns and villages, accusing him of contradictions and wanting the rich to get richer.

“Maybe we fail to understand Mr Gert Joubert’s concept, as it was not well explained,” said an unsigned press release from the Ministry yesterday. Joubert last week unveiled his idea of investing N$10 billion in eco-tourism projects, which include his 65 000-hectare game farm near Omaruru, but he lamented that he could not obtain bank loans because commercial banks got jittery when farmland was used as collateral.Joubert told the media in Windhoek that Namibia’s land reform was a “failure” because it locked valuable farmland far below its actual value, since all commercial farms up for sale first had to be offered to the Lands Ministry, a cumbersome process.Joubert argued that farms should be offered on the free market like houses.”The Ministry is shocked by the comments made by Gert Joubert of the Erindi Game Reserve on the land issue in Namibia,” the unsigned statement said.”They are viewed as a deliberate attempt to paint a bad picture of the country and to tarnish the good reputation Namibia has among all free nations in the world.”It was “very sad to read that it is only some Namibians who should benefit from the natural resources of the country, keeping the status quo, even after Independence where everybody is guaranteed the right to a living”, the Ministry said.”Everybody derives a living from land.Mr Joubert may be right to say that there is potential locked-in underutilised land in both commercial and communal land, but the way to invest in the land must be carefully planned to benefit the current and future generations of this country.”The Ministry said it could not recall any occasion where a “genuine potential investor was unnecessarily prevented from investing in the land in Namibia,” despite the “few restrictions applicable to foreign nationals who would like to own land in Namibia”.One “contradiction”, according to the Ministry, was that Joubert said he owned 65 000 hectares of land – his Erindi Game Lodge.”It is so huge that he has his own country within another country (Namibia).We fail to understand why he would want more land, while we believe he has already more than enough.”Had he applied for more land, this could have been discussed and considered, the Ministry said.”We wish to invite anybody who may have questions or doubts on Namibia’s land reform programme to come and discuss these concerns, including concerns on resettlement, with the Ministry,” the statement concluded.Joubert yesterday told The Namibian that he felt misunderstood.”If an entrepreneur wants to undertake tourism development on a piece of land that is classified under the category agriculture – that should be changed,” he said from Cape Town.”Tourism is the catalyst for employment and that stimulates economic growth,” he added.According to him, it would be good for Namibia to think out of the box when it came to tourism.”Farmers near the world-famous Kruger National Park in South Africa have removed their fences bordering on the park and positive development is taking place where people can buy into a secluded country retreat and enjoy nature.”This created employment, while the wildlife could move freely between the park and adjacent farmland, he said.Other areas on those farms were open for tourism.”Imagine a similar development in Namibia close to the Etosha National Park,” Joubert remarked.Joubert last week unveiled his idea of investing N$10 billion in eco-tourism projects, which include his 65 000-hectare game farm near Omaruru, but he lamented that he could not obtain bank loans because commercial banks got jittery when farmland was used as collateral.Joubert told the media in Windhoek that Namibia’s land reform was a “failure” because it locked valuable farmland far below its actual value, since all commercial farms up for sale first had to be offered to the Lands Ministry, a cumbersome process.Joubert argued that farms should be offered on the free market like houses.”The Ministry is shocked by the comments made by Gert Joubert of the Erindi Game Reserve on the land issue in Namibia,” the unsigned statement said.”They are viewed as a deliberate attempt to paint a bad picture of the country and to tarnish the good reputation Namibia has among all free nations in the world.”It was “very sad to read that it is only some Namibians who should benefit from the natural resources of the country, keeping the status quo, even after Independence where everybody is guaranteed the right to a living”, the Ministry said.”Everybody derives a living from land.Mr Joubert may be right to say that there is potential locked-in underutilised land in both commercial and communal land, but the way to invest in the land must be carefully planned to benefit the current and future generations of this country.”The Ministry said it could not recall any occasion where a “genuine potential investor was unnecessarily prevented from investing in the land in Namibia,” despite the “few restrictions applicable to foreign nationals who would like to own land in Namibia”.One “contradiction”, according to the Ministry, was that Joubert said he owned 65 000 hectares of land – his Erindi Game Lodge.”It is so huge that he has his own country within another country (Namibia).We fail to understand why he would want more land, while we believe he has already more than enough.”Had he applied for more land, this could have been discussed and considered, the Ministry said.”We wish to invite anybody who may have questions or doubts on Namibia’s land reform programme to come and discuss these concerns, including concerns on resettlement, with the Ministry,” the statement concluded.Joubert yesterday told The Namibian that he felt misunderstood.”If an entrepreneur wants to undertake tourism development on a piece of land that is classified under the category agriculture – that should be changed,” he said from Cape Town.”Tourism is the catalyst for employment and that stimulates economic growth,” he added.According to him, it would be good for Namibia to think out of the box when it came to tourism.”Farmers near the world-famous Kruger National Park in South Africa have removed their fences bordering on the park and positive development is taking place where people can buy into a secluded country retreat and enjoy nature.”This created employment, while the wildlife could move freely between the park and adjacent farmland, he said.Other areas on those farms were open for tourism.”Imagine a similar development in Namibia close to the Etosha National Park,” Joubert remarked.