Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has refuted claims that the government is intentionally slowing down the implementation of the second national land conference which was called to find ways to solve Namibia’s land issue.
The government was heavily criticised this week after it announced that only 29 of the 167 land conference resolutions were fully implemented almost five years after the land summit.
The 2018 land conference was tasked with reviewing the progress made towards the implementation of the resolutions of the first national land conference in 1991.
Issues of land ownership, complemented by factors such as ancestral land rights and restitution, the willing-buyer-willing-seller model, the expropriation of agricultural (commercial) land in the public’s interest, and the national land reform programme were among the main topics of discussion at the 2018 event.
Other issues of prime importance include the removal of the veterinary cordon fence (redline) and urban land reform and resettlement.
The government has also been accused of sleeping on the report of the ancestral land commission of inquiry into claims of ancestral land rights and restitution, almost two years after a final report was submitted to the Cabinet.
However, the prime minister rejected these claims, saying the government was on track with the implementation of the land conference resolutions.
She said the resolutions taken at the conference have different time frames and won’t all be fully implemented at the same time.
“When something is under implementation, it doesn’t mean we are behind schedule. We are behind schedule and it doesn’t mean we have failed to do what we were supposed to do.
“It only means it does not take one action or one year to fully implement all the activities . . ,” she said.
On the removal of the redline, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said the government is dealing with the challenges identified, but that the process would not be concluded overnight.
“We were looking at how we can ensure that the movement of cattle between Namibia and Angola is regulated, because it would not help for us to remove the fence if the animals in the northern parts of the country can move to Angola and they could pick up diseases there even if they are vaccinated,” she said.
In the meantime, the prime minister said the government has identified alternative markets for livestock products from the northern communal areas.
Also commenting on the land conference resolutions, Rally for Democracy and Progress leader Mike Kavekotora said government officials are reluctant to implement resolutions to remove the redline.
Meanwhile, minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security Albert Kawana said calls to construct a physical border between Namibia and Angola for the purposes of removing the redline would not materialise soon.
Constructing a physical border between Namibia and Angola was one of the options considered at the second national land conference in 2018.
Kawana says a physical border would only create problems for the communities living alongside it.