Lands Ministry to reform two laws

THE Ministry of Lands and Resettlement has hosted two more workshops to consult with stakeholders on the newly proposed Land Reform Act, which will merge the two existing laws for communal and commercial land into one single legislation.

The workshop at Otjiwarongo last week was attended by about 110 people, mainly representatives of traditional authorities and civil society in the Omaheke, Otjozondjupa, Erongo and Khomas Regions.On Monday, another workshop was held at Keetmanshoop for stakeholders in the Karas and Hardap regions.A national conference on the matter will be held in Windhoek on March 1 and it is planned for three days. According to participants who attended the Otjiwarongo workshop, four working groups looked at issues like the right of first refusal of Government to buy land, which includes the offering of land by the current landowners, the expropriation of agricultural land and limitation of purchasing of land by foreigners.’The working groups also looked at the allocation of communal land rights, the compilation and activities of the Land Reform Advisory Commission (LRAC) and the various definitions of application of the Act and especially the definition of alienation,’ the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) said in its latest newsletter yesterday. ‘Numerous proposals on the current draft bill were accepted by workshop participants for discussion the national workshop next month. These are alternative mechanisms for Government’s right of first refusal when land is up for sale, the definition of ‘usufruct’ (land use), land inheritance, the compilation of the Land Reform Advisory Commission and the Regional Land Boards and the right of use of communal land among others,’ the NAU said. It is expected that the Lands Minister Alfeus !Naruseb will table the new consolidated draft bill in the National Assembly soon.