Lands not seized with The Namibian’s use of ‘seizure’

THE Ministry of Lands has once again taken exception to an article in The Namibian newspaper.

It is upset with the use of the term “seizure” in Thursday’s newspaper and claims it was aimed at inciting fear and causing instability. In an unsigned statement, the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation claimed “the writer chose to sensationalise the expropriation of land and failed to provide details as to the legal requirements the Ministry will adhere to”.”The article, however, chose the term ‘seizure’, which is defined as ‘taking possession of something through the use of force”, said the statement, which omitted the meaning – for example in the Concise Oxford Dictionary – which defines the word to also mean ‘seizure by police or other authority by warrant or legal right’.”The term expropriation in itself is misinterpreted by many as a threat to the right of ownership.How much more then will the term seizure not result in creating unnecessary fear and instability.”The Ministry stressed that fair compensation would be paid.It said the Minister would only proceed to acquire the property through expropriation after consultation with the Land Reform Advisory Commission, an independent body “comprising stakeholders and established in accordance with Section 4 of the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act”.It is not clear whether these consultations had taken place before the expropriation notices were issued.The Commercial Farmers Association indicated that they had been caught by surprise.While denying that – once the notice has been issued – expropriation left no room for the willing-buyer, willing-seller policy, the Ministry said the two programmes would be used in parallel.The Ministry appealed to “all stakeholders to support the land reform process by giving their full co-operation”.Despite stating that expropriation and the land reform programme would be carried out openly and transparently, the Ministry has yet to publicise the names of the farms issued with expropriation notices.Several reports indicate that many farms owned by non-Namibians are among the at least a dozen farms identified so far.But some of those targeted also include farms that have been known to have poor labour relations.In an unsigned statement, the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation claimed “the writer chose to sensationalise the expropriation of land and failed to provide details as to the legal requirements the Ministry will adhere to”.”The article, however, chose the term ‘seizure’, which is defined as ‘taking possession of something through the use of force”, said the statement, which omitted the meaning – for example in the Concise Oxford Dictionary – which defines the word to also mean ‘seizure by police or other authority by warrant or legal right’.”The term expropriation in itself is misinterpreted by many as a threat to the right of ownership.How much more then will the term seizure not result in creating unnecessary fear and instability.”The Ministry stressed that fair compensation would be paid.It said the Minister would only proceed to acquire the property through expropriation after consultation with the Land Reform Advisory Commission, an independent body “comprising stakeholders and established in accordance with Section 4 of the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act”.It is not clear whether these consultations had taken place before the expropriation notices were issued.The Commercial Farmers Association indicated that they had been caught by surprise.While denying that – once the notice has been issued – expropriation left no room for the willing-buyer, willing-seller policy, the Ministry said the two programmes would be used in parallel.The Ministry appealed to “all stakeholders to support the land reform process by giving their full co-operation”.Despite stating that expropriation and the land reform programme would be carried out openly and transparently, the Ministry has yet to publicise the names of the farms issued with expropriation notices.Several reports indicate that many farms owned by non-Namibians are among the at least a dozen farms identified so far.But some of those targeted also include farms that have been known to have poor labour relations.