By Kudzai Chimhangwa.
Namibia will soon revisit the willing buyer/willing seller principle in order to redistribute land to the Namibian masses, President Hage Geingob has said.
Speaking at the country’s 27th independence celebrations in Kavango East region yesterday, Geingob said the process has been slow in satisfying the wishes of Namibians.
“We are committed to addressing the land issue. We need to revisit the willing buyer willing seller, and we did this in order to adhere to resolution 435 (of the United Nations),” he said.
Resolution 435 of 1978 was the outcome of a United Nations led process that called for the holding of elections in Namibia under UN supervision and control, the cessation of all hostile acts by all parties, and restrictions on the activities of South African and Namibian military, paramilitary, and police.
“What I’m saying is the truth but lies will always change. We will revisit our constitution which allows for the expropriation of land, foreign owned land, especially absentee land owners,” he told hundreds of people gathered at the event.
The celebrations were also attended by members of the diplomatic corp, senior government officials and traditional leaders.
He pointed out that peace was the key to the country’s economic development and investments.
“If we don’t address what is nagging our people, that peace will go up in flames, your investments will go up in flames,” he said, with reference to the contentious land issue.
Geingob added that Namibian people were growing increasingly impatient over the land issue and called on the people to wait on the ruling party , SWAPO to deliver.
“We are now impatient as if SWAPO is denying people land. Let’s not cause confusion. Maybe we are disagreeing on modalities, but what is this anger as if SWAPO is against its own people, for which we fought to free the land,” he said.
Affirmative Repositioning activists have over the years continued to spur land grabs, with the Namibian government issuing stern warnings against such.
Namibia is ranked as having a very high gini coefficient or wide income inequalities in the world.
Geingob said that his government is aware of ‘some’ people who are tired of peace and have not made a secret about it.
“We still have a long way to go towards unity…We must be aware of centrifugal forces who want to destroy what took us so many years of blood, sweat and years to build,” said Geingob, adding that people must think twice before destroying their party and country.
The land issue in Namibia is growing more problematic as former President Hifikepunye Pohamba delivered a lecture last week saying that Article 16 of the Namibian constitution was hindering government’s land reform efforts.
Pohamba revealed that had he been aware of the long term impact of Article 16 he would have denied its insertion into the constitution.
“How that chapter came about, I have realised, was when we got our independence, Zimbabwe was ten years old,” he said at a SWAPO Party School in Windhoek.
“Apparently, our advisors, having seen what was happening in Zimbabwe advised us (to insert a clause protecting property rights. I wish they could have done it today I could have said no!” said Pohamba.
Speaking at the same event, Kavango region governor Samuel Mbambo lauded Namibia’s freedom from oppression, exploitation and discrimination.
” Economic activity is the order of the day. Now economic empowerment is the second phase of our liberation struggle, “said Mbambo.
Land has continued to be a highly contentious issue in many Southern African countries as liberation war movements have sought to redistribute it to the masses. Geingob’s utterances could signal a new chapter for Namibia and the region as a whole, should he make good on them.
Zimbabwe’ ZANU PF led government embarked on a fast track land redistribution program in the year 2000, but it was carried out haphazardly with many white farmers losing millions of dollars in investments to farm invasions.
Consequently, the country’s economic trajectory plunged for the worse as foreign direct investment inflows declined while agricultural and industrial activity plummeted.
South Africa’s ANC has not been spared either as there have been growing calls to expropriate foreign and white owned land, with President Jacob Zuma leading the call.
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