Aboriginal Khoe-San condemns AR Movement

namib times 24-07-15

With President Hage Geingob meeting with the leaders of the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) Movement today to discuss the burning land-issue, the Aboriginal Khoe-San of Namibia Renaissance Movement this week also joined the party. In a press statement they condemn the AR and note that it appears to be a long-planned strategy of Swapo.

This movement is a non-

profit organisation which lobbies for the recognition of the indigenous status, identity and First People’s natural earth rights of the aboriginal Basters, Co-loureds, Nama and San people of Namibia.

In the statement the movement claims that the vast majority of the aboriginal Khoe-San, who are the real land-owners (according to the press release) still do not own land and are increasingly displaced by Swapo’s protégés, fo-reign and domestic.

The main aim of this press release is to provide histo-

rical context and perspective in order to determine who the actual beneficia-

ries of land resettlement ought to be.

“The AR movement and others who wish to obtain land through corruption, land grabbing, illegal fen-cing, resettlement and other means, are a threat to national reconciliation, unity, equality, law and or-

der, national security and political and economic stability,” the statement reads. The statement also touches on environmental matters and natural resources.

“How fair is it that the nomadic San and other aboriginal Khoe-San do not benefit from the country’s natural resources, but invaders and former colo-

nial masters have access to ancestral aboriginal Khoe-San property?” it is asked. They furthermore demand for new land reform, based on a whole new paradigm that will have all land and natural resources consi-

dered for equitable redistribution.

The Movement also demands for both financial empowerment and compensation as an alternative for non-farming aboriginal Khoe-San. It further reads, “We demand nothing less than US$100 billion in cash from the State of the Republic of Namibia,

which is similar to the recent proposed approach by President Jacob Zuma to compensate the Khoe-

sanoid aborigines of South Africa.”

They warn that, should land continue to be estranged from the aboriginal Khoe-San, unspecified action will be taken, which will lead to the greatest uprising ever witnessed in Namibia.       

Meanwhile, the DTA of Namibia has proposed that Government and the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement agree to lift the AR’s 31 July 2015 deadline and place a 90-day moratorium on any activity, legal or illegal, that relates to the acquisition of public urban land.

Speaking at a media con-

ference in Windhoek yes-

terday, DTA President

McHenry Venaani urged both parties to engage in open, public and consultative discussions on a range of issues related to the availability of urban land, and to commence with legislative and policy reform in this regard.

Further proposals by the DTA include that within 60 days of 31 July 2015, Cabinet should table an additional budget in respect of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to allocate an amount of no less than N$3.7 billion for the servicing of urban land throughout the country, so as to ensure that serviced land is delivered in order to meet the needs of the Namibian people.

Venaani said use of contingency funds should also be made available for the servicing and allocation of urban land during the interim period.

The information and mobilisation secretary of the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) in the Oshikoto Region has meanwhile urged the youth in the region to not heed the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement’s calls to grab land.

Speaking to Nampa in a telephonic interview on Wednesday, Eddy Gabriel said people of the Oshikoto Region, particularly young people, should shun the ideology of the AR Movement in the name of stability in the country.

“The AR ideology is a personal intention, which is merely to destroy the good image of the Nami-

bian Government,” Ga-

briel said.

At the same time, he alleged that “certain forces”

are behind the AR.

“The AR leaders should come out and tell us who is behind them,” he said before asking whether the movement’s intention is to bring civil war to Namibia.
He further stated that he believes unauthorised occupation of land will result in chaos which will affect the whole nation.

Professor of Law and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Nami-bia (Unam), Nico Horn, is of the view that Namibia should be thankful that the Affirmative Reposition-

ing (AR) movement has brought the issue of urban land to the forefront, as it has changed the understanding of the utilising of such land in the country.

Horn said earlier Namibia should be thankful that AR placed the issue of urban land on the table.

It changed Namibia’s un-

derstanding of the utilising of urban land. He noted that as AR has pointed out, agricultural land as discussed at the 1991 Land Conference, is not the big issue.
Horn said the issue is the right to a decent living in the capital and the big towns.

Horn also commended the AR and local media for exposing corruption, saying own interest and deals with family members and friends made land allocation subjective in Nami-bia. It has contributed to the high price of land for people without contacts in high places, he said.

President Geingob has acknowledged a need for engagement and consultation with all parties to avoid unnecessary disruptions in the country.

The president said land and poverty are the biggest problems in Namibia.
‘‘Collective ideas are needed to alleviate po-

verty and address the land issues.

Young people have the democratic right to demand land, but they must avoid causing war in the country,” Geingob said.

He added that the illegal

occupation of land is a

criminal offence that must

be avoided. The Head of State added that it is not the Swapo Party’s duty to address the land issues in the country, but that of the State.
Meanwhile, Simonis Storm

Securities expects house prices to remain high with a limited supply of low cost housing filtering through until Government address the housing shortage.

The local brokerage and securities company said a positive response from Government, especially President Hage Geingob, to the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement’s demands will likely lead in both parties finding a middle ground, which might lead to the positive addressing of the land and housing issue in the near future. Under its leadership, about 50 000 applications for land have been submitted by landless youth to local authorities and municipalities countrywide. (additional reporting:NAMPA)