Union urges Govt to speed up land reform process

THE Namibian Farmworkers’ Union (Nafwu) has accused Government of using land expropriation as a political tool and dragging its feet in giving land to the landless.

At a press conference in Windhoek on Friday, the union went as far as naming farms that it believes Government should consider expropriating. “We need to as a people begin more genuine dialogue, not when politics demands.Land should not be used when it suits a given political environment,” said the National Union of Namibia Workers’ Deputy Secretary General Evilastus Kaaronda.”Government can’t announce expropriation then it takes so long.The problems persist and nothing is done.Listing alone is not good enough.We want the process to unfold,” said Kaaronda.He said Government did not appear fully committed to putting land in the hands of farmworkers.Government announced that it would begin expropriating farms in February because its willing-buyer, willing-seller policy was not delivering the desired results.Although it has served a number of expropriation notices on white-owned farmers across the country, no transactions have been concluded.Nafwu President Asser Hendricks said on Friday that it was unacceptable that some white Namibians were allowed to own several farms when so many people were landless.”The farmworkers union wishes to strongly register its disappointment with the Government’s slow pace of land expropriation which has thus far largely contributed to the perpetual exploitation of farmworkers,” said Hendricks.He urged Government to consider the farms Uloltemade, Okatjitambi, Kloodstock, Troye, Buffelstaf, Graspan and Okatjiru in the Omatako district for expropriation.The farms are all said to be owned by a certain RD Ritter.”In our opinion he is not doing much for this country and its people despite the vast tracts of land under his ownership,” said Hendricks.Nafwu claimed that farmworkers countrywide were being brutally treated by white commercial farmers and that little was being done to put an end to it.”The perpetual suffering endured by our members is further compounded by a lack of action on the part of Government, which thus far has not been able to properly arrest the conditions that permit the exploitation of farm workers on farms,” said Hendricks.Kaaronda said farmworkers had been prevented from making a decent living and that there had been little response from Government on the matter.”Our people are equally good farmers.If granted access to land, they would be able to live more dignified lives,” he said.The union said a survey carried out in the Omatako district revealed that commercial farmers were still underpaying their workers offering them as little as N$250 a month as opposed to a basic minimum of N$429 in addition to rations.Nafwu said farmworkers across the country were working at least nine hours a day, and in most cases six days a week.It said farmers were ignoring the hourly rate of N$2,20.The union also claimed that farmworkers were being prohibited from obtaining national documents and that farm owners were forcing them to attend political meetings of the farmers’ choice.Nafwu called on the Ministries of Labour and Lands to dispatch a team of inspectors to the above mentioned farms as well as others to check on the treatment of workers.”We need to as a people begin more genuine dialogue, not when politics demands.Land should not be used when it suits a given political environment,” said the National Union of Namibia Workers’ Deputy Secretary General Evilastus Kaaronda.”Government can’t announce expropriation then it takes so long.The problems persist and nothing is done.Listing alone is not good enough.We want the process to unfold,” said Kaaronda.He said Government did not appear fully committed to putting land in the hands of farmworkers.Government announced that it would begin expropriating farms in February because its willing-buyer, willing-seller policy was not delivering the desired results.Although it has served a number of expropriation notices on white-owned farmers across the country, no transactions have been concluded.Nafwu President Asser Hendricks said on Friday that it was unacceptable that some white Namibians were allowed to own several farms when so many people were landless.”The farmworkers union wishes to strongly register its disappointment with the Government’s slow pace of land expropriation which has thus far largely contributed to the perpetual exploitation of farmworkers,” said Hendricks.He urged Government to consider the farms Uloltemade, Okatjitambi, Kloodstock, Troye, Buffelstaf, Graspan and Okatjiru in the Omatako district for expropriation.The farms are all said to be owned by a certain RD Ritter.”In our opinion he is not doing much for this country and its people despite the vast tracts of land under his ownership,” said Hendricks.Nafwu claimed that farmworkers countrywide were being brutally treated by white commercial farmers and that little was being done to put an end to it.”The perpetual suffering endured by our members is further compounded by a lack of action on the part of Government, which thus far has not been able to properly arrest the conditions that permit the exploitation of farm workers on farms,” said Hendricks.Kaaronda said farmworkers had been prevented from making a decent living and that there had been little response from Government on the matter.”Our people are equally good farmers.If granted access to land, they would be able to live more dignified lives,” he said.The union said a survey carried out in the Omatako district revealed that commercial farmers were still underpaying their workers offering them as little as N$250 a month as opposed to a basic minimum of N$429 in addition to rations.Nafwu said farmworkers across the country were working at least nine hours a day, and in most cases six days a week.It said farmers were ignoring the hourly rate of N$2,20.The union also claimed that farmworkers were being prohibited from obtaining national documents and that farm owners were forcing them to attend political meetings of the farmers’ choice.Nafwu called on the Ministries of Labour and Lands to dispatch a team of inspectors to the above mentioned farms as well as others to check on the treatment of workers.