Minister gives blessing to third Lands Tribunal

THE third Lands Tribunal was officially launched in Windhoek yesterday.

Speaking at the launch, Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (MLRR) Hifikepunye Pohamba reiterated that one of the tribunal’s main tasks was to determine the purchase price in instances where there was a dispute between the owner of commercial agricultural land and the MLRR, once land had been offered for sale to Government. Lands Tribunals were constituted in 2003.Pohamba said in southern Africa, and in Namibia in particular, land was a sensitive issue and needed to be handled with the utmost care.”In our case, the land issue has been further complicated by historical factors stemming from colonialism and the illegal occupation of our country.This has resulted in land deprivation and an imbalance in land distribution and ownership,” he said.He made it clear that existing imbalances in land ownership could not continue to be tolerated, and said relevant measures had to be taken to ensure that the majority of landless Namibians were suitably and lawfully accommodated.The Minister said Namibia had introduced a land tax as one of the important measures to ensure productivity and to raise revenue from all commercial farm land.The process was now at an advanced stage as Namibia has been able to obtain close to 86 per cent of the addresses and details of ownership of commercial agricultural land in the country.”This would not have been possible had it not been for the co-operation and support received from the Namibian landowners and the media, both electronic and print,” he said.He expressed satisfaction that Namibia had made strides in land redistribution, adding that his Ministry was about to complete a database of beneficiaries resettled over the years, their dependents and their livestock.Pohamba cited the affordability of land as one of the problems affecting land reform, saying that land prices had escalated by more than 70 per cent during the past four years.- NampaLands Tribunals were constituted in 2003. Pohamba said in southern Africa, and in Namibia in particular, land was a sensitive issue and needed to be handled with the utmost care. “In our case, the land issue has been further complicated by historical factors stemming from colonialism and the illegal occupation of our country. This has resulted in land deprivation and an imbalance in land distribution and ownership,” he said. He made it clear that existing imbalances in land ownership could not continue to be tolerated, and said relevant measures had to be taken to ensure that the majority of landless Namibians were suitably and lawfully accommodated. The Minister said Namibia had introduced a land tax as one of the important measures to ensure productivity and to raise revenue from all commercial farm land. The process was now at an advanced stage as Namibia has been able to obtain close to 86 per cent of the addresses and details of ownership of commercial agricultural land in the country. “This would not have been possible had it not been for the co-operation and support received from the Namibian landowners and the media, both electronic and print,” he said. He expressed satisfaction that Namibia had made strides in land redistribution, adding that his Ministry was about to complete a database of beneficiaries resettled over the years, their dependents and their livestock. Pohamba cited the affordability of land as one of the problems affecting land reform, saying that land prices had escalated by more than 70 per cent during the past four years. – Nampa