Posted on 09/12/2002 3:25:44 AM PDT by Clive
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Namibian white farmers optimistic on land reforms September 11, 2002, 21:30
Statistics say white commercial farmers own 30,4 million hectares of the land in Namibia Namibia's white farmers today said they were optimistic that Zimbabwe-style land grabs could be avoided despite threats by their government to expropriate scores of farms from absentee landlords. The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), which represents about 4000 white commercial farmers, said it had received assurances from Hifikepunye Pohamba, the Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Minister, that the government would stick to its willing- buyer, willing-seller policy.
"We had discussions with the minister and the minister assured us that the government would stick to the willing-buyer, willing-seller policy," Gert Grobler, the NAU secretary-general, told Reuters.
This followed recent statements by President Sam Nujoma supporting Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's controversial seizures of white-owned farms for the resettlement of landless blacks. Nujoma's ruling South West African People's Organisation (Swapo), at a recent congress, accused farmers of inflating land prices and endorsed the expropriation of 192 farms from absentee landlords, who are mostly South African and German.
On Monday, Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Prime Minister, told Don McKinnon, the visiting Commonwealth Secretary General, that Namibia would "pursue a route that will not destabilise the country when redistributing land".
Grobler said the planned expropriation of the 192 farms, while legal, would scare off investors. He said farmers were offering land to the government at market rates, despite official complaints that the prices were inflated. Last year they offered the government 171 farms but only 20 farms were bought, he said.
The government sets aside 20 million Namibian dollars ($1,88 million) annually for land acquisition, which Grobler said was insufficient. "The problem is the government has no money for land acquisition, there are enough farms for sale," he said.
According to government statistics, white commercial farmers own 30,4 million hectares of the land in Namibia, while blacks own 2,2 million hectares. Absentee landlords own 2,9 million hectares, while the government owns 2,3 million hectares. Indigenous Namibian tribal groups lost almost all their arable land during the 1904-07 colonial war with Germany. Namibia, formerly South West Africa, became a South African protectorate when Germany lost World War One. - Reuters
I guess the key here is what the meaning of 'destabilise' is; the land, however, will be redistributed. Goodbye white farmers.
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