COMMERCIAL farmers, hopeful of a negotiated solution to land reform, have called on the Government to set up an informal negotiating team to mediate the sale of land.
Newly elected Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) President Raimar von Hase proposed on Friday that the Minister of Lands, Hifikepunye Pohamba, establish an informal negotiating team, representing farmers and the Government, to serve as mediator between the seller and the buyer. “Its aim is to reach consensus about the procedures and price and, if consensus can be reached, the transaction can be concluded and if not, the intended seller should have the right to withdraw his offer without being subjected to any legal requirements,” Von Hase said.He has taken over from Jan de Wet and is seen as a better negotiator by most farmers that attended the NAU congress last week.Von Hase said the congress suggested that the sale of part of a farm to an emerging farmer should be regarded as a change of ownership under the land reform programme.President Sam Nujoma last week announced plans to expropriate 192 farms belonging to foreign absentee landlords to speed up land reform over the next five years.Von Hase said expropriation was inevitable, but Pohamba must first convene a conference to clarify “grey areas” and formulate “a nationally acceptable, politically and economically sustainable expropriation policy”.”In order to eliminate uncertainty, the criteria for selection should be clear, transparent and understandable,” he said.The grey areas farmers refer to include national interest, just compensation and market price.”What does just compensation or national interest mean? There must be criteria to determine what is a market price,” said one farmer.Pohamba told the farmers earlier that land reform will be carried out within the context of the law and that just compensation will be paid.At the congress the farmers agreed that the willing-seller, willing-buyer concept was still the cheapest, least disruptive and most acceptable option.Speakers repeatedly pointed out that there was uncertainty among farmers, who were not sure who would be the next to face expropriation.”Its aim is to reach consensus about the procedures and price and, if consensus can be reached, the transaction can be concluded and if not, the intended seller should have the right to withdraw his offer without being subjected to any legal requirements,” Von Hase said.He has taken over from Jan de Wet and is seen as a better negotiator by most farmers that attended the NAU congress last week.Von Hase said the congress suggested that the sale of part of a farm to an emerging farmer should be regarded as a change of ownership under the land reform programme.President Sam Nujoma last week announced plans to expropriate 192 farms belonging to foreign absentee landlords to speed up land reform over the next five years.Von Hase said expropriation was inevitable, but Pohamba must first convene a conference to clarify “grey areas” and formulate “a nationally acceptable, politically and economically sustainable expropriation policy”.”In order to eliminate uncertainty, the criteria for selection should be clear, transparent and understandable,” he said.The grey areas farmers refer to include national interest, just compensation and market price.”What does just compensation or national interest mean? There must be criteria to determine what is a market price,” said one farmer.Pohamba told the farmers earlier that land reform will be carried out within the context of the law and that just compensation will be paid.At the congress the farmers agreed that the willing-seller, willing-buyer concept was still the cheapest, least disruptive and most acceptable option.Speakers repeatedly pointed out that there was uncertainty among farmers, who were not sure who would be the next to face expropriation.
