Those words did not come out of my mouth: Ekandjo

LANDS and Resettlement Minister Jerry Ekandjo has taken issue with a report in The Namibian on Tuesday about the possibility of a marginalised San community in the Tsumkwe area losing their conservancy.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Ekandjo disputed a paragraph quoting people present who said the Minister had told the San they had “come from Angola, had fought with the Boers against Swapo liberation fighters and who were they to say what to do with the land”. “What appeared in the newspaper is untrue,” Ekandjo charged.As much as the Minister is adamant that he is correct, community sources at Tsumkwe insist they heard what they heard.The Minister was responding to an article about fears that a Government plan to divide up proclaimed conservancy land for small-scale farming and resettlement would wipe out community efforts to get the conservancy up and running.They also say it will deprive them of income from tourism and trophy hunting.Further, fears are rife that the Government plan will undercut Namibia’s internationally acclaimed conservancy initiative.On Wednesday, Ekandjo told the House that on Tuesday he contacted the reporter who wrote the article to ask her to verify the accuracy of the statement with community leaders at Tsumkwe.”I even offered that the reporter could fly with me to Tsumkwe for verification,” he added.He said he had expected a follow-up report in The Namibian the next day, but nothing had appeared.He then read out a ministerial report of the meeting between the Ministry and community leaders, which took place at Tsumkwe on October 9.Ekandjo did telephone the reporter on Tuesday about verification, and also asked for the names of the people The Namibian had quoted.However, the newspaper noted that it would be unethical to reveal the name of its sources.The Namibian then again phoned community members who attended that meeting, who insisted the Minister had made a statement to that effect.”One man started to fire questions at the Minister and he then told the man to go back where he came from, as he fought against Swapo in the liberation struggle,” according to one of the sources.”We all knew he meant Angola; the man is a San and the community felt the words of the Minister were directed at them as well.”According to the report that Ekandjo read out in the National Assembly, the main topic for discussion at the Tsumkwe meeting was the envisaged development of small-scale farms by the Ministry in the area, which San Chief John Arnold said he welcomed.”The Minister told the Chief and his councillors that the project of small-scale commercial farming unit development had already started in the Caprivi, Kavango and Ohangwena regions.The purpose is to increase food production because Namibia is very much dependent on South Africa for food supply, It will be catastrophic if South Africa is to close her gate (sic) and not export food to us.We will starve and that is not a healthy situation to be in as a country,” Ekandjo said, according to the report.Developing small farms would benefit all Namibians, including the San.Cattle herders from the Oukwanyama tribal area grazing their cattle illegally in the western Kavango region would not be accommodated in the Tsumkwe area, it said further.The project was “primarily for the community of Tsumkwe”, according to the ministerial report.Farms would not have freehold titles, but would be leased from Government “by those who are interested”.The essence of the small-scale farming project would be to “to control grazing, manage the livestock better and improve the quality of beef”.The ministerial report notes that a number of community members were not in favour of the project, as they were developing community forests and a conservancy in that area.”Some expressed fear of being replaced by stronger communities experienced in farming since the San are not having many cattle, while others thought the small-scale farms will just be allocated to the friends of the Chief.”However, the report of the Lands Ministry concluded that the “Tsumkwe community accepted the development of the small-scale commercial farming in principle”.”What appeared in the newspaper is untrue,” Ekandjo charged.As much as the Minister is adamant that he is correct, community sources at Tsumkwe insist they heard what they heard.The Minister was responding to an article about fears that a Government plan to divide up proclaimed conservancy land for small-scale farming and resettlement would wipe out community efforts to get the conservancy up and running.They also say it will deprive them of income from tourism and trophy hunting.Further, fears are rife that the Government plan will undercut Namibia’s internationally acclaimed conservancy initiative.On Wednesday, Ekandjo told the House that on Tuesday he contacted the reporter who wrote the article to ask her to verify the accuracy of the statement with community leaders at Tsumkwe.”I even offered that the reporter could fly with me to Tsumkwe for verification,” he added.He said he had expected a follow-up report in The Namibian the next day, but nothing had appeared.He then read out a ministerial report of the meeting between the Ministry and community leaders, which took place at Tsumkwe on October 9.Ekandjo did telephone the reporter on Tuesday about verification, and also asked for the names of the people The Namibian had quoted.However, the newspaper noted that it would be unethical to reveal the name of its sources.The Namibian then again phoned community members who attended that meeting, who insisted the Minister had made a statement to that effect.”One man started to fire questions at the Minister and he then told the man to go back where he came from, as he fought against Swapo in the liberation struggle,” according to one of the sources.”We all knew he meant Angola; the man is a San and the community felt the words of the Minister were directed at them as well.”According to the report that Ekandjo read out in the National Assembly, the main topic for discussion at the Tsumkwe meeting was the envisaged development of small-scale farms by the Ministry in the area, which San Chief John Arnold said he welcomed.”The Minister told the Chief and his councillors that the project of small-scale commercial farming unit development had already started in the Caprivi, Kavango and Ohangwena regions.The purpose is to increase food production because Namibia is very much dependent on South Africa for food supply, It will be catastrophic if South Africa is to close her gate (sic) and not export food to us.We will starve and that is not a healthy situation to be in as a country,” Ekandjo said, according to the report.Developing small farms would benefit all Namibians, including the San.Cattle herders from the Oukwanyama tribal area grazing their cattle illegally in the western Kavango region would not be accommodated in the Tsumkwe area, it said further.The project was “primarily for the community of Tsumkwe”, according to the ministerial report.Farms would not have freehold titles, but would be leased from Government “by those who are interested”.The essence of the small-scale farming project would be to “to control grazing, manage the livestock better and improve the quality of beef”.The ministerial report notes that a number of community members were not in favour of the project, as they were developing community forests and a conservancy in that area.”Some expressed fear of being replaced by stronger communities experienced in farming since the San are not having many cattle, while others thought the small-scale farms will just be allocated to the friends of the Chief.”However, the report of the Lands Ministry concluded that the “Tsumkwe community accepted the development of the small-scale commercial farming in principle”.