MIB Bulletin March 2010 - Namibian Government

8/7/2019 MIB Bulletin March 2010 - Namibian Government

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Government Information Bulletin Marc 2010

Republic of Namibia

Government Information

BulletinMarc 2010

INThIsIss

ue

Trust and confdencegrew over 20 year:

Angula

Page 4

Te pace of landreform in

Namibia

Page 11

stanley, te unungero of Namibia

independence

Page 14

here i our 20t independence

anniverary logo!

F

REE

1

Namibias 20th independence

anniversary logo represents our

national unity in diversity, a vibrant

nation forging ahead to achieving our

national goals as contained in our fve

year National Development Plan 3 as well

as in our Vision 2030.

These were the words of Prime Minister Nahas

Angula when he launched Namibias 20th

independence anniversary logo at the UN Plaza

in Katutura on 17 February 2010.

At the launch of the logo, the Prime Minister

said that is was very important for Namibia

to celebrate the strides we have made in the

last twenty years. We make deep reections

and continue to take stock of where we come

from, where we are now and where we are

going and how. We must always express our

very sincere and heartfelt appreciation to those

who stood with us through thick and thin. We

must endeavour to always remind ourselves of

these serious sacrices and make that our pillar

of nurturing real internal peace and peace with

our neighbours and the world at large, Angula

said.

According to Angula the long and glorious

journey of Namibias nationhood will continue

to be told to generation upon generation. This

year, Namibia will turn twenty years since our

birth as a nation on 21st March 1990, whenthe ag of an independent Namibian nation

was hoisted for the rst time and the ag that

represented the illegal authority of apartheid

South African regime over our country was

brought down forever.

On 21st March 2010, the nation will gather

at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek

for the twentieth anniversary of our freedom

and independence from the yoke of apartheid

colonialism.

Namibias 20th independence anniversary logo

consists of an oval shape depicting the Namibia

ag with the gure and words 20 years inserted

on the ag, pointing towards our 20 years as an

independent nation. The jubilant gures on top

of the oval symbolises our people, our stability

and our unity in diversity as a nation. With their

hands raised above their heads, the gures

imply our bravery and victory as a nation. Thegures also symbolises a crown that is pointing

to our success as a nation, while the heads of

the gurines depict our diamonds.

The slogan for our 20th anniversary as a nation

is a visionary nation on the move towards 2030

implying that we are working as a nation to

realise our dream of becoming an industrialised

and knowledge-based society by 2030.


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Government Information Bulletin March 2010

Government Information Bulletin: Publicising GovernmentThe Government Information Bulletin wasestablished through Cabinet decision number13th/04.07.06/002 as an ofcial informationbulletin to publicise the Governmentsprogrammes, policies and activities for thebenet of Government institutions and the

Namibian public. All Government institutionscontribute towards the Bulletin. The GovernmentInformation Bulletin is published monthly by theMinistry of Information and CommunicationTechnology. To meet the specic information

needs of communities, the public is invited tosend comments and suggestions on Governmentprojects, programmes and policies, which willthen be covered in the Bulletin. More Governmentnews and information can be accessed on theGRN news button on the Government internetsite at www.grnnet.gov.na

The Bulletin is distributed free of charge to ruralcommunities through the Ministrys regionalofces. The public and organisations are

welcome to subscribe to the Bulletin, but mailingcosts will be for the account of the subscriber.

Contents

Private Bag 13344, Windhoek

Telephone 061 - 2839111Fax 061 - 230170E-mail [email protected] DV8 Saatchi & Saatchi,

Windhoek.Layout and printing Solitaire Press, Windhoek.

2

Here is our 20th independence logo............................ 1

2010: Year of success and progress Pohamba................. 3

Trust and condence grew over 20 years:

Prime Minister....................................................................... 4

Democracy needs wisdom to ourish: Speaker.................... 5

Justice remains a pillar of Namibian democracy:

Chief Justice.......................................... 7

Agriculture backbone of the Namibian economy............... 9

Large country, little land land reform 20 years on............ 11

Stanley whisked Nujoma away to freedom.......................... 14

Education for a new Namibia................................................ 16

Fisheries sector made great strides in 20 years................... 18

Infrastructure to boost economic growth............................ 20

Tourists are ocking to Namibia since independence.......... 22

Mining Namibias economic backbone............................... 25

20 Years on fertile ground for Namibian media................. 27

Namibia telecoms infrastructure impressive........................ 28

Art development calls for decentralisation........................... 30

From the Desk of the MinisterOn 21 March this year it will

be 20 years since Namibia rid

itself from the yoke of racism

and colonialist apartheid

oppression to become a

sovereign and independentrepublic with our own ag,

coat of arms and national

anthem.

Namibians have a pre-

independence history of having

been denied the basic human

rights of inherent dignity,

equality and self-determination.

A protracted liberation struggle

was waged against the colonial

forces to attain freedom, dignity

and self-determination. In the

process many sons and daughters of Namibia paid the highest price.

Indeed the blood of those heroes and heroines of the liberation strugglewaters our freedom.

As we are preparing to celebration 20 years of freedom and independence,

we are obliged to remember the sacrices of those who suffered or paid

the highest price to allow us to enjoy the fruits of independence.

The 20th anniversary of our independence on 21 March 2010 is indeed

an achievement to be proud of, especially since Namibia is in the position

to boast that our rst 20 years of independence was characterised by

peace, stability and progress unlike many other African countries

that experienced different forms of upheaval after having attained

independence. Thanks to the prevailing peace and security we can look

back after 20 years to the progress that we have made as a nation

progress which is only possible in a stable and peaceful democratic

dispensation. All Namibians have to be applauded for contributing to

this conducive environment.In this edition of the Government Information Bulletin we are bringing you

news on the progress that we have made in the past two decades. We

have the Prime Minister talking about the value of the policy of national

reconciliation that contributed to our stability. From the legislative arm of

the government the Speaker shares his views of the progress we made,

but he is cautioning that we are lacking tolerance and that we must start

listening to each other since democracy needs wisdom and tolerance to

ourish. Our representative judiciary, in which the population has great

faith, serves as a role model in Africa according to our Chief Justice.

In this edition you will also nd an overview of the contribution of different

sectors of the economy towards Namibias growth. This Bulletin, which

is dedicated to our 20h independence anniversary, brings you news on

agriculture, education, land reform, sheries, infrastructure, tourism,

mining and many more.

On the centre spread you will nd information on the ight of our

Founding Father, Dr. Sam Nujoma, to freedom and the unsung hero who

took him over the border.

Happy reading and a happy 20th independence anniversary

commemoration!

Hon. Jol Kaapanda, Minister ofInformation and Communication

Technology


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3

When addressing the rst Cabinetmeeting for 2010, PresidentHikepunye Pohamba urged his Cabinet

Ministers to make 2010 a year of success

and progress in the development of the

country.

The Head of State also emphasised on

consistent continuation in alleviating poverty

and improvement of sanitation in rural areas

and informal settlements in all towns and

cities.

Let this be a year for the creation of more jobs

for our people; for the further strengthening

of our health and education sectors; for the

continued expansion of the communication

and physical infrastructure in our country, for

improving sanitation in rural areas and informal

settlements; for the expanded provision of

portable water in rural areas; for addressing the

socio-economic needs of the workers, peasants,

senior citizens, orphans and vulnerable children,

women, youth and vulnerable members of our

nation, Pohamba pleaded.

Pohamba further stressed that it is the duty

of the executive branch of the state to ensure

that all policies that have been adopted are

implemented and that the resources allocated

to various institutions through the budget are

utilised timely and for the purposes they have

been allocated. The onus is on us, as the

executive branch of the state, to implement

policies and programmes that will create

a conducive environment for our country

to prosper and to free our people from the

degrading chains of poverty, he said.

President Pohamba regarded the year 2010

as a signicant milestone in the lives of the

Namibian nation, as the nation will celebrate

20 years of nationhood, democracy, freedom

and self-determination. The year will also mark

the inauguration of the newly elected members

of National Assembly and the formation of the

new Government, following the November 2009

Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

It demands deliberate actions and steps

to be taken by all those charged with the

implementation of Government policies so that

progress continues to be made and momentum

can be maintained towards the achievement

of our national development plans and Vision

2030, Pohamba said.

Pohamba emphasised the importance of hardwork, dedication and proper planning at all

levels, adding that ministers and their deputies

as political principals of different public

institutions, must at all times keep their hands

on the wheel to ensure timely implementation

of policies and Cabinet decisions by permanent

secretaries and their staff.

The Head of State acknowledged the fact that

citizens in different parts of the country are

demanding service delivery and public amenities

hence, the Government must continue to

answer their legitimate calls and their pleas

by expanding the availability of potable water,

access to quality health care and education by

strengthening its responses to the challenges

of HIV/AIDS, crime and unemployment. He

also emphasised the need to expand the Green

Scheme, urging that it should be intensied

and sustained for the improvement of local

food production. This is a duty in which we

cannot afford to fail because the well-being of

our people is at stake and the prosperity of our

country is on the line, Pohamba declared.

Pohamba pointed out that the education sector

needs more attention, making specic reference

to the 2009 grade 10 examination results. He

added that the Government must work hard

to ensure that substantial nancial resources

allocated to the sector are effectively leveraged

to yield the desired results. While appreciating

the good rains that have been received so far,

the President cautioned the emergency and

disaster management institutions to be on the

alert as more rain can still be expected as per

the weather forecasts. He warned all relevant

institutions to constantly monitor the levels of

the rivers and the ood plains, to ensure that

appropriate actions are taken timeously to

prevent the destruction of property and the

disruption of peoples livelihoods.

We still recall the destructive oods of 2008

and 2009 which occurred in the north andnorth-eastern parts of the country. This past

experience must alert all relevant institutions

in our Government to take timely action to

mitigate the effects of the ood, Pohamba

emphasised.

The President reminded his Cabinet Ministers

that the massive support that the SWAPO Party

received in the 2009 Presidential and National

Assembly elections are from Namibian voters

living in the rural areas and informal settlements

in towns and cities. Hence, they are obliged to

address their concerns and the challenges that

they [voters] are facing. We must continue to

harness available resources and the capacities

of our public institutions to give effect to and to

achieve our stated objectives, he urged.

2010: Year of success and progress -

PohambaBy Julia Hamhata

President Hikepunye Pohamba opening the rst Cabinet session of 2010 with Secretary to Cabinet, FransKapo by his side.


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4

To appreciate 20 years of nationhood,

Namibians have to retrace their stepsand reect on how it all started. This is

the view of Prime Minister Nahas Angula.

We have to go back to 1990. On 21 March

1990 Namibia was born as an independent

and free nation. However, at that point in time,

when political party representatives formed

the Constituent Assembly, where consensus

was reached on the type of Constitution we

would have, the situation among the general

public was one of mistrust, suspicion, not

knowing where things were going, fear and

apprehension.

Let me illustrate. I was appointed the rst

Minister of Education, Culture and Sport. I was

invited by the then director of white schools to

address members of school boards who had

gathered at Windhoek High School. When I

went there I found a community that was shell

shocked. It was as if a bomb shell had been

dropped in their midst. I overheard one ofcial

trying to sooth the people who were saying:

Dit is nie die einde van die wreld nie (This is

not the end of the world).

People were not sure what the future held. That

was the prevailing situation.

We had to start building bridges of mutual

respect and contact. The Swapo government

was wise to adopt the policy of national

reconciliation. Simply put the policy said: lets

turn a new page. On this new page we can craft

our future. Let bygones be bygones. Lets reach

out to each other as people with one destiny.

This helped us in dealing with a very difcultsituation, like for instance integrating the 12

different education systems we found here.

It was not easy to bring people of different

cultural backgrounds together and let them

think along the same frame.

I remember as new Minister I was looking for

ofce space. Windhoek had three education

authorities, namely Herero, white and national

education. The white education department

informed me that they had space available

on the ground oor of their head ofce,

situated in the Nictus building, and I was

welcome to use it. The people at the national

education department decided not to be part

of that ofce, located in a building historically

occupied by the promoters of apartheid. Ihad expected resistance from the Herero or

the Coloured administrations, but this time it

came from national education, that were lead

by a white section who regarded themselves as

enlightened. They could not understand that a

Swapo Minister would stoop so low as to sit in

that building. They had forgotten that we had

adopted the policy of national reconciliation, we

had decided to turn a new page.

There were other instances as well. I once called

a meeting at the Windhoek Teachers Training

College, where the University of Namibia is

today where representatives of the education

system of the whole country met. This was early

1991. At the meeting we wanted to announce

the broad education policies we would be

following. However most senior ofcials were

people from the former white administration,

national education, Coloured, Nama and Herero

administrations. The colleagues who came

from the northern regions were not prepared

to accept that kind of arrangement. They said

Comrade Angula had sold out to Koevoet and

the former Broederbonders. They again forgotthat we were building the nation based on the

policy of national reconciliation and from that

point of view we had to unify all the education

departments and bring all of us together.

It took time for the people to see my point.

However by 1995, when the Ministry of Educationwas split in two, we had laid the foundation for

a unied national education system, thanks to

the policy of national reconciliation.

Another interesting experience was when we

embarked on the integration of the schools.

There was initial resistance from some formerly

privileged white schools. They claimed it was

a recipe for lowering the standards. I had to

ensure them that with integration the student-

teacher ration would not change and that

we would not withdraw resources from their

schools. After all the Constitution says that

anything that smelled like apartheid would not

be condoned in Namibia, and that they would

have to start admitting black children.

There were however some teachers who were

doing things to frustrate the efforts. In some

classes black children were forced to sit in the

back of the class in the last row, behind all the

other children. In some cases a black child who

wanted to make a contribution in class, was

ignored.

We were lucky in those days to have a very

strong student union, Nansu. Nansu agreed

to monitor the implementation of the policy to

integrate schools. They did a good job. When

Trust and condence grew over 20 years:

Prime Minister

Continues on page 5

Prime Minister Nahas Angula


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Namibia is a Parliamentary democracy.

Parliament consists of two houses,

the National Assembly and the National

Council. Parliament is housed in thehistorical Parliament buildings in

Windhoeks city centre, known in colonial

times as the Tintenpalast (ink palace

civil servants working there used a lot of

ink to do their work).

The Parliament of the Republic of Namibia is

one of the three institutions of the State, which

are the Legislature (Parliament), the Executive

(Cabinet) and the Judiciary (the Courts).

When Namibia became independent in 1990,

the ruling party nominated dr. Mos Tjitendero,

as the rst Speaker of the National Assembly,

a position he held with aplomb for three

consecutive ve year terms.

The reigns of the National Assembly was taken

Democracy needs wisdom to ourish:

Speakerover by the current Speaker, Mr. Theo-Ben

Gurirab in 2005.

I have to search my mind to think of anyAfrican country that during the rst 20 years

of its independence had not experienced any

major upheaval or disruption, be it a coup

dtat or the assassination of the head of state

or what ever. Except for Namibia, I can only

think of Botswana. Botswana and Namibia have

totally different histories. We came from a bitter

military struggle, Botswana on the other hand

were given their independence by the former

colonial power, who just got tired of being

there. That was of course before diamonds

were discovered in that country. In our case

the struggle dragged on, rstly because of

Namibias strategic location and secondly due

to the natural resources. Since 1990 till now,

we have not seen any major disruptions, Mr.

Gurirab said.

Continues from page 4Trust and condence grew over 20 years: Prime Minister

they noticed something wrong, they went to

the press. We would then pick up on it and

launch an investigation.

The process of integration went smoothly

with the exception of an incident at the

Windhoek Technical High School, where a

black girl was assaulted. This was the only

major incident in the integration process.

The examples I have given from the

education sector also applies to the whole

public service.

The Constitution required that those people

who were employed in the public service prior

to independence should continue to perform

their duties as per Article 141.

This article was not favoured by those people

who felt excluded and was of the opinion that

those who worked for the colonial civil service

were part of the machinery of oppression.

However in the spirit of national reconciliation

the Constitution states: Subject to the

provisions of this Constitution, any person

holding ofce under any law in force on the

date of Independence shall continue to hold

such ofce unless and until he or she resigns

or is retired, transferred or removed fromofce in accordance with law.

Many believed that the incoming government

would dismiss and replace the old guard. This

did not happen. Those who worked for the

colonial authority still continued to work for

the Government of an independent Namibia.

Some embraced the new policies and the new

government, some left of their own accord.

Today that story will sound boring or surprising

to some. Gradually we have started reaching out

to one another and the mistrust disappeared,

suspicion faded. It was translated into trust and

condence. In all of this the guiding principle

was national reconciliation.

Today I believe Namibia is at a different faze

as far as human relations and development are

concerned. Namibia is a totally different countrythan it was in 1990. Surprisingly 20 years is not

a very long time. 1990 seems like yesterday.

Of the challenges we face the most important

question is how to tackle underdevelopment,

poverty and unemployment. This translates into

unequal distribution of national resources that

is still visible.

Poverty is the consequence of a lack of

productive assets among the majority of the

people. We have big challenges that must

be addressed. Malnutrition is responsible for

poverty reproducing itself. The intellectual

development of a child who is malnourished

is inuenced, and they cant benet from

the education they are offered. In this way

poverty reproduces itself.

Unemployment further aggravates inequality

in the society. It is therefore imperative that

we develop and implement a comprehensive

programme to ght malnutrition and general

diseases experienced by the population. It

is important to have a healthy population. A

healthy population will be able to be productive

in all spheres of society, be it in schools, in the

economy or any endeavours they undertake.

The key to ght underdevelopment, poverty,

unemployment is to promote a healthy nation.

Food security is important. We must promote

an improved diet among all our communities.

The programme to immunise should be

compulsory.

Over the next 20 years we must ensure

that we have a healthy, well educated nation

and create conditions for the majority of the

population to own productive assets. If we

implement these three priorities, in another

20 years from now, Namibia will be a totally

different society, Prime Minister Angula

concluded.

Continues on page 6

Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Speaker of the NationalAssembly


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Continues from page 5Democracy needs wisdom to ourish: Speaker

He explained that Namibias democracy

is based on the political party list system,

differing from the constituency based system.

The President is also elected directly by the

popular vote, and not by the winning party.

After being elected the President constitutes

his or her Cabinet from the elected members

of the Parliament.

A member of the National Assembly is in

Parliament thanks to the political party he

or she belongs to. In a constituency based

system, a member of Parliaments main

loyalty would be with his or her constituency

not necessarily to a political party.

In Namibia the ministers and deputy

ministers run the show in Parliament, not

the backbenchers or the members of the

opposition. The ministers set the agenda for

Government. They translate the manifesto of

the ruling party into policies and legislative

programmes, because it was on the strength

of the manifesto that they convinced the

voters to elect a specic party.

The leader of government business in the

National Assembly is the Prime Minister.

He is responsible for the government

business as drawn up by Cabinet. It is theresponsibility of ministers and others to assist

the Prime Minister in driving policy choices

and legislative programmes. It is inevitable

that Government policy will correspond with

the manifesto on which a certain party was

elected into ofce.

Throughout our 20 years of independence,

Swapo has maintained its dominant role

in Parliament. This is due to the fact that

there is a lack of major complaints for how

Government is run, or anything that could

threaten our democracy. The people feel that

this is the best we can do, even though there

are still challenges like our education system,

health, the youth and the aged. Government

has not succeeded fully in addressing these

issues, but there is still a feeling of so far,

so good.

Regarding the opposition parties, we have

had quite a mix since independence. In 1990

there were people of great stature and of

greater weight, who understood the role

of the opposition. In theory the oppositionof today is the government of tomorrow.

They played an active role and showed good

leadership. Unfortunately these days, I

would say we can do better. The opposition

have progressively moved to a point of being

hopeless. With the beginning of the term of

the fth Parliament this year, we see a new

situation, which can be compared to when the

Congress of Democrats (CoD) rst participated

in the 1999 election, with a new political party

(the Rally for Democracy and Progress RDP)

entering the fray.

All in all we can be satised with what our

Parliament and Government have achieved in

the last 20 years. However, on the economic

side we could have done better. We have more

mouths to feed, there are more demands from

civil society and we face climate change. The

economy must grow by at least seven or eight

percent if we hope to meet the goals of Vision

2030. We also have a lot to do to empower

our women politically, economically and as

entrepreneurs. The youth are crying because

even with degrees and senior secondary

certicates, they cant nd jobs. We will

have to grow our economy to provide more

opportunities.

I am not really sure whether our citizens

have reached the stage yet where they are

able to differentiate between history, the

legacy of personalities, historical gures and

issues of safety, security and social well-being.This requires that they be informed about

Government policies and laws.

If I look at countries like China and India,

that in the early 1960s were so poor, and how

they managed to focus on their economies and

transform themselves, be able to feed their

people and train their people, I see valuable

lessons. These days their people are able to

grow their own food, grab opportunities to

gain skills and not look to the government

for everything. They have acquired skills and

know-how to market their skills. They have the

money to spend on medical care, sending the

children to the schools of their choice. They

have developed the means to create their own

wealth and to take care of their own lives.

The future holds enormous challenges for us

in Namibia. Unemployment is now above 40

percent. This is too high for our country. Namibia

has the dubious record of having the highest

Gini coefcient in the world. This measures

the income disparity in the population. A small

chunk of the population is very rich and themajority is very poor. This has been the case

for 20 years. We can not continue like this. We

need to grow our economy. We must also x

our electoral system, because it has become

embarrassing. Referring to India again, in a

country with 1.48 billion people they have

elections of one day and the results are

known hours after the polling stations close.

We have no excuse and reason to hold our

elections over two days.

On the political front we face the challenge of

intolerance. It comes in different forms from

the governing party, the opposition parties

and even from churches. There is a big need

for tolerance and that we should listen to

each other. Democracy needs wisdom and

tolerance to ourish, Mr.Gurirab concluded.

By the end of 2009 the National Assembly

passed 510 Bills. 1998 was the busiest

Parliamentary year when 35 Bills were passed

and 2009 the slowest with only seven Bills

being adopted in that year.

Looking back at the early years the Bills adopted

by Parliament tells the story of the birth of

a new nation. The rst Act that was made

in Namibia in 1990 was die National Coat of

Arms of the Republic of Namibia Act, followed

by the Public Service Commission Act, the

Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone

of Namibia Act, the Assignment of Powers

Act and the Pension Matters of GovernmentInstitutions Amendment Act.

Other interesting Acts of 1990 included

the Ombudsman Act, Bank of Namibia Act,

Namibian Citizenship Act, Public Holidays Act

and the Police Act.

In 1991 the Namibian Broadcasting Act, the

Namibian Citizenship Special Conferment Act,

Recognition of Certain Marriages Act, the

National Anthem of the Republic of Namibia

Act and the Racial Discrimination Prohibition

Act were among those adopted.

The Namibian Parliament also boasts

several standing committees dealing with

Constitutional and Legal Affairs; Economics,

Natural Resources and Public Administration;

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security;

Human Resources, Social and Community

Development; Privileges; Public Accounts and

Standing Rules and Orders. The committees

are comprised of backbenchers from all

political parties represented in Parliament.

They play an important part in the businessof Parliament and contribute to the smooth

running of the state. All in all Namibias

Parliament is in institution all Namibians can

be rightly proud of.


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7

Justice remains a pillar of Namibias

democracy: Chief Justice

The judicial power shall be vested in the Courts

in Namibia which shall consist of:

(a) a Supreme Court of Namibia;

(b) a High Court of Namibia;

(c) lower courts of Namibia.

The Courts shall be independent and subject

only to the Constitution and the law.

Thus begins Chapter 9 of the Namibian

Constitution.

This independence the Namibian judiciary haspracticed since its inception at the time of

independence. Lady Justice is indeed blind and

shows to fear nor favour when applying the

laws of the land.

Of this, Chief Justice Peter Shivute is

exceptionally proud.

Men and women on the benches of our

courts work day and night to ensure that our

Constitution is protected. They are all committed

to the rule of law and are strictly nonpartisan.

All our judges live up to the oath of ofce.

I often attend conferences and workshops

in the Southern African region and I hear

many issues our colleagues in the region still

grapple with. Issues like the independence of

the judiciary, the relations between the various

organs of state, checks and balances and even

the question whether the judiciary has any role

to play. These are all non-issues in Namibia.

Namibia is indeed a role model as far as these

aspects are concerned, Chief Justice Shivute

said.

Magistrates CourtsSince independence Namibia has made great

progress as far as the magistrates courts are

concerned.

At the time of independence we had few

magistrates and prosecutors and on this level

the demographics of the country were not well

reected.

Magistrates were still part of the civil service.

This raised the question about the independence

of the judiciary as the magistrates court, high

court and supreme court all form part of the

judiciary. Magistrates fell under the Minister

of Justice and their service conditions and any

transfers were determined by the civil service

and the Minister. In the late 1990s plans were

put in place to change it, Chief Justice Shivute

said. One magistrate challenged the Ministers

authority to transfer him. The Magistrates

Bill was passed by Parliament and became

the Magistrates Act. Magistrates were thus

removed from the civil service and since then

fall under the Magistrates Commission, chaired

by a Judge of the High Court. Magistrates

are still appointed by the Minister but nowon the recommendation of the Magistrates

Commission.

The Magistry is headed by the Chief Magistrate.

This is a positive development, according to

Chief Justice Shivute.

Due to a shortage of magistrates, magistrates

were brought in from Zimbabwe to assist.

This brought stablitiy and the Zimbabwean

magistrates did a good job while steps were

taken to employ Namibians who had graduated.

We now have a fairly good status. We have a

Continues on page 8

Minister of Justice, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana looks on while President Hikepunye Pohamba unveils the plague of the High Court at Oshakati


8/32


8

Continues from page 7Justice remains a pillar of Namibias democracy: Chief Justice

system in place for training recent graduates.

After successfully completing the training

they can replace the expatriate magistrates.

By the time the expatriates return to their

home countries, we trust that sufcient skills

transfer will also have taken place.

High Court

In 1990 at the time of independence Namibia

only had three permanent judges. Today

there are ten permanent judges of which

three are Namibian women. In the past it was

the exclusive domain of men. However the

pool from which to choose judges is small and

therefore Namibia also relies on expatriates

to act as judges in the High Court. This has

its benits as it improves the judice prudencein the country and Namibians can benit from

the best in the Southern African region. They

also make a signicant contribution towards

the development of local law. Steps are also

being taken to appoint more Namibians to

the Bench, including women.

The work of the High Court has increased

tremendously and the number of judges we

have are still not enough. Appeals have been

made to Government to increase the number

of judges and Government is sympathetic

towards our plight. They accept the principle

that this must be done to address crime and

prevent the postponement of cases, Chief

Justice Shivute added.

Supreme Court

Namibians have reason to celebrate the

Supreme Court. In 1990 the Supreme Court

existed but did not have its own courthouse.

Today a prestigious building, prominent in

the city centre of Windhoek, representing

justice as one of the pillars of our democraticstate, houses the Supreme Court, Chief

Justice Shivute said.

He also gave the assurance that the structural

problems to the outside of the building were

being addressed. Money was made available

and architects are working on a solution.

In 1990 the Supreme Court started its work

with three judges, Judge President Hans

Berker, Judge Ismael Mohammed from

South Africa and Judge Dubetsheana fromZimbabwe. There was a critical shortage of

personel and Namibia had to rely on judges

from outside the country and serve.

We heavily depended on them and hope to

have ve supreme court judges. We still rely

on judges from outside on a part time basis. It

is a vigorous process to appoint a judge to the

supreme court and judges cant just be taken

from the High Court as it will in turn leave a

gap there.

At present the High Court and Supreme

Court are working effectively. Over the

years transformation took place and with

the appointment of the Ombudsman, the

Prosecutor General and Judges, the Judicial

Service Commission made a point to ensure a

balanced structure, reective of our population,

all inclusive and totally representative.

I am satised that we have a representativejudiciary in which the population have great

faith.

On the Constitutional level the High Court and

Supreme Court had to interpret many ariticles

of the Constitution especially pertaining to

human rights. The right to legal representation;

the differentiation between the powers and

functions of the Attorney General and the

Prosecutor General in which the courts made

clear the seperation of powers; the issue of

corporal punishment where the courts ruled

that it was degrading and inhumane and even

the ruling by the Supreme Court that magistrates

should not be part of the public service as it

was not Constitutional, are examples.

In the case of the Caprivi Seperatists trail, the

court ruled that Govenment should pay for the

legal representation of the accused.

It is to the credit of Government that they

have always complied with court orders.

This is an important development and shows

Governments commitment to the law and the

judiciary.

If someone is unhappy with what Government

does, he or she can go to court, Chief Justice

Shivute said.

With all the success and achievements

of the last 20 years, Chief Justice Shivute

admits that the judiciary still faces immense

challenges.

Firstly there is the issue of a shortage of judges

to deal with cases. A lack of administrative

support to do the job, as well as an increasedcase load in the High Court and Supreme

Court, are other challenges. The rise in the

number of civil cases to be heard is a positive

indication that more and more Namibians

know their rights and are aware that they can

go to the High Court to get relief.

Not many people approach the Supreme

Court probably because of nancial reasons.

The cost of litigation is a concern. The

Supreme Court is the last court anyone can

approach to get relief, but often the cost is a

hampering factor.

However the good news is that the Court

does not ask money to hear a case. It is only

the lawyers who must be paid.

At the supreme court the waiting period for a

case to be heard is also short. Once a case is

registered and the docket is ready, the court

can proceed.

The challenges we face can be overcome.

I am concerned about judgements taking along time to be handed down. The Judicial

Service Commission has, however, now set a

time limit within which judgements must be

handed down.

Namibians can be very proud of the

achievements over the last 20 years, not

only as far as the judiciary is concerned but

also on other levels of state. Our population

is small and we have made tremendous

progress since independence, Chief Justice

Shivute concluded.

Chief Justice Peter Shivute


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9

Agriculture backbone of the Namibian

economy

Agriculture can rightfully be described

as Namibias economic and social

heart beat. If measured in terms of Gross

Domestic Product (GDP), agricultures

contribution is relatively small compared

to that of mining and tourism. However,

when considered that about 70% of

Namibias population is directly or

indirectly dependent on agriculture for

their livelihoods, the real importance of

this sector becomes eminent.

The Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Water

and Forestry (MAWF) has been tasked overthe past 20 years to implement agricultural,

water and forestry policies, strategies and

programmes which are in line with the countrys

developmental blueprints, namely Vision 2030

and the National Development Plans.

Mr. Andrew Ndishishi, Permanent Secretary (PS)

in the MAWF, says his ministrys main objective

is to create an enabling environment for the

development, management en sustainable

utilisation of agriculture, water and forestry

resources.

In doing so the MAWF applies modern

techniques, science and technology to enhance

the agro-industry, livestock production,

horticulture as well as the marketing and the

storage of agricultural products. Furthermore

the Ministry provides veterinary services

to ensure animal and public health and to

comply with the requirements for national and

international trade in agricultural commodities,

Ndishishi says.

As far as plant production is concerned,

Namibia made huge progress over the past two

decades. At the moment we produce 50% of

all the cereals consumed locally. Furthermore,

the local production and marketing of fruit and

vegetables and other horticultural produce

increased to about 30% of the local demand.

The ultimate aim is to replace most of the

imported products with local production, says

the PS.

The Green Scheme is an initiative conducted

by the MAWF to encourage the development of

irrigation-based agronomic production with the

aim of increasing the contribution of agriculture

to the countrys GDP and to simultaneouslyuplift and develop communities located within

suitable irrigation areas.

Namibias climate is marginally suited to dry-

land crop production, with the exception of

areas in the north and north-eastern regions.

Only 2% of the countrys total surface area

is regarded as arable, whereas about 46% is

seen as suitable for permanent pasture, 22%

is forest and the rest arid. Irrigation is possible

only along the perennial rivers (on the northern

and southern borders) and where dams feed

irrigation schemes. Although substantial

production in staple food takes place, Namibia

is still dependent on food imports to address its

food insecurity.

As mentioned before, the primary signicance

of the agricultural sector lies in its contribution

to the livelihoods of rural communities. Namibia

has dual agricultural farming systems. The

communal farming sector comprises 41% of

agricultural arable land, whilst the commercial

farming sector occupies about 44% of the

agriculturally usable land. The 4 000 families

on these farms employ about 70 000 families

in commercial production. The commercial sub-

sector contributes about 65% of the agricultural

output of Namibia.

Cattle farming are concentrated in central and

northern Namibia, while the southern parts of

the country are used for sheep and goat farming.

Because Namibias cattle are bred and reared

extensively in the country and live entirely off

savannah grasses and shrubs, Namibian beef is

entirely free from harmful residues, hormones

and antibiotics. Namibia is widely regarded as

one of the best sources of beef in the world.

About 80% of all livestock, meat and meat

products are exported, mostly to South Africa

and Europe. According to Ndishishi, Namibia

also wants to enter markets in the Middle

East, China en the United States of America.

The livestock sub-sector is the single largest

contributor from agriculture to the GDP

through the export of beef and mutton more

or less 88% of the 10% that this sector adds

to the national income. With the exception of

cattle weaners, more than 95% of cattle and

sheep are slaughtered at the ve local export

abattoirs.

The commercial dairy industry operates in

accordance with a free-market system. The

Namibian Dairy Producers Association (DPA)

consists of small groups of farmers located in the

Grootfontein, Gobabis, Mariental and Windhoek

areas. Less than twenty producers supply

fresh milk for Namibia, as well as considerable

quantities of cream and yoghurt. Most butter,

cheese and other dairy products, however, are

still imported from South Africa. With Namibia

Continues on page10

The super farm at Mariental Irrigation farming takes place at Hardap and at Aussenkehr in the south


10/32


0

Continues from page 9Agriculture backbone of the Namibian economy

Dairies new super dairy farm at Mariental

now in production, the countrys dependency

on imports will reduce dramatically.

White maize is produced mainly under dry-land conditions in the maize triangle situated

between Tsumeb, Otavi, and Grootfontein, in

the Summerdown area and in the Omaheke

and Caprivi regions. The most important

irrigation schemes contributing to domestic

white-maize production are the Hardap

Irrigation Project, the Naute Project near

Keetmanshoop, Etunda in the North Central

Regions, the ood plains in the Caprivi and

irrigation schemes in the Kavango. According

to Ndishishi 9 000 ha of agricultural land is

under irrigation. The aim is to increase it to

27 000 ha within the next few years.

A total of over 7 000 ha of white maize is

currently planted in the commercial dry-land

production areas. About 30% of mahangu

(pearl millet) production is ofcially marketed;

the rest is consumed at household level or

kept for household consumption.

Fruit production has also taken off, especially

in southern Namibia at Aussenkehr on

the northern banks of the Orange River,

primarily for the production of table grapes.Augmented by exceptionally long hours

of sunshine, Namibia can produce grapes

earlier in the season than South Africa,

which gives signicant price advantages

in foreign markets. There are a total of

nine grape-producing companies in the

Aussenkehr valley. The Namibia Grape

Company (Pty) Ltd was established in 1999

by an empowerment group to promote the

production and marketing of table grapes

for export purposes. These are supplied to

northern-hemisphere markets such as the

UK, while some are shipped to the Far East.

A wide selection of vegetables is

grown at irrigation sites at amongst

others Etunda, Olushandja, Lake

Oshikoto and Guinas, Omaruru,

Stampriet, Hardap, Okahandja andthe Orange River. Namibias climate

is ideally suited for the production

of olives. Today there are about 20

producers, and a total of about 20

000 trees. The biggest producer

is Heisers Oliven, which produces

green as well as the soft Calamata-

style black olives, and also olive oil

and olive paste.

Dates are currently being produced

at three locations: Khorixas in

Kunene South, Aussenkehr on the

Orange River and the Naute Dam

near Keetmanshoop. The dates

produced at Naute are sought-

after because of their exceptional

quality and because they measure

up to strict international marketing

standards. The most popular export varieties

are Medjool and Barhee.

When asked about the challenges for the future,

Ndishishi says: The rate of reoccurrences of

oods and prolonged dry spells are adverselyaffecting crop production. The MAWF in

collaboration with other Ministries and agencies

are therefore developing a disaster management

plan. The Ministry also pays attention to

pro-active interventions like promoting the

technologies that will address climate change.

The lack of expertise in critical areas such as

engineering, hydrology, entomology, plant

pathology, rangeland management and

horticulture also need to be addressed by

encouraging students through bursary schemes

to qualify themselves in those elds, he says.

Furthermore, the uncertainty of the outcome

of the current trade negotiations with the

European Commission for an Economic

Partnership Agreement and the inevitable

affect thereof on agricultural exports,

necessitates the development of alternative

markets.

The marketing opportunities for horticultural

and agronomic crops produced at regional

level, is still limited. It is important to

encourage more and more smallholder

farmers to produce for the market. To this

end more agricultural extension technicians

need to be deployed, more grain silos need

to be erected and marketing strategies for

controlled crops like fruit, vegetables, millet

and maize need to be intensied, Ndishishi

concluded.

Namibian cattle Drying mahangu

Slaughtered cattle at one of the countrys abattoirs


11/32


11

Large country, little land - land reform 20

years onBy Catherine Sasman

One of the pillars of a new Namibiawas to rectify post-colonial landdistribution that was extremely skewed

in favour of the former colonial rulers.

The next 20 years would prove to be a

trying time to address these inequities.

Twenty years after independence, the land

question remains at the heart of the post-

colonial processes of State consolidation.

Equally, said the Namibian Government, landreform is to alleviate poverty and ensure

increased sustained livelihood of resettlement

beneciaries to contribute meaningfully to

Namibias economy.

Land ownership in pre-independent

Namibia

Before the colonial era, customary laws

by various language groups determined

landownership. Land tenure was communal,

but suggested researchers Professor Sydney

L. Harring and Willem Odendaal in the Legal

Assistance Centre (LAC) publication One day

we will all be equal: A socio-legal perspective

on the Namibian land reform and resettlement

process, the term was much more complex.

Large tracts of land were held by pastoralists

- some of the largest and most prosperous

herding cultures in southern Africa. Other

parts were farmed in plots of different sizes

with a variety of crops. The San hunted and

gathered.

Each clan or family had denite rights to useparticular lands. Even the nomadic San, said

Harring and Odendaal, regaled communal

lands with some possessory interest.

They suggested that both communal and

customary land rights be viewed as evolutionary

land tenure systems, changing with new

circumstances.

During the German colonial period (from 1884

to 1915) white beneciaries occupied grazing

areas of the Herero and Nama. White settlers

did not penetrate the more fertile areas of the

north (the former Ovamboland) and northeast

(the former Okavangoland and Caprivi Zipfel).

This left most indigenous inhabitants of the

northern regions on their own land, living

under their own laws. After 1900, the German

administration divided Namibia into two sections:

the Police Zone in central and southern Namibia,

and the northern and northeastern reserves

or homelands. Movement for indigenous

Namibians was restricted, and whites were

prohibited to enter these areas.

Northern Namibians could only move out of

the reserves if contracted for labour for limited

periods.

Administration in the homelands was done

by traditional authorities. Communities in the

northern regions were incorporated into the

colonial administration after 1900: Ovamboland

and the Caprivi Zipfel were incorporated in 1908

and 1910 respectively.

Herero chiefs used customary rights of land

allocation in central parts of Namibia. In 1876,

Chief Samuel Maharero set aside areas as

reserves for pastoralists. Europeans settled

on the rest. German colonial ofcials acquired

land by providing protection to Herero, Nama

and Baster against warring clans. This landed

substantial lands to the Germans between 1893

and 1903.

German expansion of land ownership grew after

the 1897 rinderpest killed thousands of oxen,

rendering indigenous people more vulnerable

and forced into wage labour while the price

of land fell sharply and used as a bartered

commodity.

The 1904 Nama and Herero revolt againstGerman rule caused further loss of control and

ownership of traditional land. At the end of the

war in 1908, land and livestock of all indigenous

groups in central and southern Namibia were

conscated. Only the Rehoboth Basters, some

Damaras and Berseba Namas were allowed to

retain land and livestock.

From 1915 to 1920, no legislation existed under

which land settlement could be carried out. In

fact, the incoming South African administration

discouraged settlement. But white South

African stock farmers nonetheless moved into

southern Namibia where they were issued with

grazing or occupation licenses. After 1920, a

land board was introduced to facilitate land

settlement of white South African farmers.

These farmers received substantial nancial

and logistical support.

In 1922, the administration introduced the

Native Administration Proclamation 11. This

law provided that blacks who are not in

employment may not be permitted to squat on

land of owners or lessees without permission of

a magistrate. Not more than 10 black families

could be employed by one farmer without

permission. Native reserves were formed,

and the Native Reserves Commission in 1922recommended that nine percent - or ve million

hectares - form these reserves.

This meant that 11 740 indigenous Namibians

were settled on ve million hectares, while 7

481 371 hectares were given to 1106 white

farmers.

This proclamation did not affect Ovamboland,

Okavango and a few other areas in the north.

These areas were outside the white settlement

area and under the administration of

commissioners. The South Africans continued

separating Namibia into the Police Zone and

northern regions as the Germans had done.

By the mid-1940s, there was demand to settle

more landless whites. In 1950, the Police Zone

was pushed further north, which made available

an additional 275 white farms. The Sperrgebied

diamond area was also shifted for more farming

units to whites in the Namib Desert.

By 1960, there were 5214 white-owned farms.

The total commercial (or white-owned) farmingarea was 39 million hectares, with each farm on

average sized about 7500 hectares.

By 1965, there were 8803 commercial farming

units. Harring and Odendaal suggested that

this meant some farmers owned more than one

unit.

For Namibias indigenes, the land situation

remained bleak, although the Odendaal Plan

in the 1960s increased available land to black

Namibians by 50 percent. Ten reserves (or

homelands) were declared in accordance with

the Self-Government for Native Nations in South

West Africa Act of 1968. The Act recognised

Ovamboland, Hereroland, Kaokoland,

Okavangoland, Damaraland, and Eastern

Continues on page 12


12/32


2

Continues from page 11


Large country, little land - land reform 20 years on

Caprivi as native nations. But, said Harring

and Odendaal, the agricultural potential of

this added land was limited; it was the most

marginal of agricultural land.

In 1980, the South African regime introduced

Proclamation 8 - or AG 8 - that established

second-tier governments over 11 ethnic

groups. Under AG 8, traditional authorities in

the homelands became trustees of land there,

although the land ownership still resided with

the South African Government.

The representative authorities could allocate,

sell or lease communal land to a specic

ethnic group only with a declaration from

Cabinet that such land was not required for

public or ofcial purposes.

AG 8 was in place until independence in 1990

when it was repealed and replaced by the

Namibian Constitution.

The post-independence land reform

attempt

* Legal Reforms

The South West African Peoples Organisation

(SWAPO) clinched the rst democratic election

held in 1989 that heralded in Namibias

independence. It has remained in power sincethen.

In its pre-independence blueprint outlining

transformation plans for the new nation, the

party declared that the State would become the

absolute owner of all agricultural land. Alongside

this, there would be a relative accommodationof a number of other forms of ownership of

the means of agricultural production, wrote

Kaapama in his paper, Commercial land reforms

in postcolonial Namibia: What happened to

liberation struggle rhetoric?

The goal of the blueprint was to establish

fully-edged State farms based on the model

of large-scale socialist farming by the State.

Further, there were to be cooperatives based on

a combination of private ownership of land with

an emphasis of joint cultivation and/or sharing

of farm support services, as well as collective

and communes.

[These] forms of collective ownership were

described as more favourable to the reversal

of the colonial socioeconomic relations based

on exploitation, as well as for provision of large

resource bases for accumulation from below,

said Kaapama. An added proposal was for the

provision of individual family farms on land

units leased from local communities.

But, suggested Kaapama, the negotiatedsettlement that brought in Independence,

had major implications for the implementation

of the transformation-oriented

socioeconomic development

agenda of SWAPO.

The 1989 SWAPO manifesto

hence reafrmed its commitment

to redress the land inequities, but

also made provision for private

land ownership in addition to the

three forms of land ownershipstipulated in the 1985 United

Nations Institute for Namibia

(UNIN) document.

In 1991, the new Namibian

Government convened the

seminal Land Conference to

iron out the land issue. The

conference was attended by

500 delegates from all over

the country to reach national

consensus. The land conference

adopted 24 recommendations or

consensus resolutions, although

these were not legally binding.

The resolutions would, however,

strongly inuenced subsequent legislation of

land.

In broad terms, it adopted the willing-seller/

willing-buyer (WSWB) concept, which meansthat those with land retain full discretion to

sell land, or not.

It further proposed the expropriation of

land - against fair and just compensation - if

necessary of un- and underutilised land, from

foreign landlords, from commercial farmers

with excessive land, and from absentee

landlords.

The adoption of the Agricultural (Commercial)

Land Act in 1995 reserved Governments

preferential rights to buy land that comes to

the market.

This provision, said Kaapama, was often

circumvented by some landowners who

converted the farming entity into a business

- like closed corporations - and later traded

them as a corporate concession to preferred

buyers, including foreigners.

This loophole was addressed in the Second

Commercial Agricultural Land Reform

Amendment Act. The 1995 Act was criticised

as being expensive while it fails to permitthe acquisition of land for more efcient

resettlement.

But, countered Government, the Act is an

attempt to address the unequal distribution

of commercial land on the one hand, while

retaining the condence of commercial

farmers and potential investors to Namibia.

The Act does, however, make provision for

land expropriation, but only after a willing-

seller/willing-buyer process has beenexplored. The expropriation mechanism was

introduced in 2004.

Further, the Act makes provision for advise,

surveying and valuation of land offered for

sale. But the process is at the discretion of

the lands minister. Any matter under the

Act can be appealed to the Lands Tribunal.

The minister is bound by a decision of the

Land Tribunal, which has the effect of a High

Court decision, which can be appealed in

the Supreme Court. The 1995 Act was never

challenged until the High Court made a ruling

in favour of Gunther Kessle and two other

foreign nationals versus the Ministry of Lands

and Resettlement (MLR) in 2008.A resettled Ovahimba boasting with his crops while Deputy PrimeMinister Dr. Libertina Amathila looks on


13/32


13

Continues from page 12Large country, little land - land reform 20 years on

Government had attempted to expropriate

farms owned by the German nationals. But the

High Court found the ministers administration

of the expropriation process wanting,

suggesting that this mismanaging of theprocess has left the land reform programme

in a state of disarray.

Due to the slow pace of commercial land

acquisition, the 1995 Act was amended twice.

The rst amendment was in July 2000. This

amendment provides for the establishment

and administration of the Land Acquisition

and Development Fund.

The second amendment, in 2001, was brought

about to regulate the appropriation of moneys

of the Land Acquisition and Development Fund.

It further makes provision for a restriction on

the transfers of agricultural land, and makes

provision for the imposition and collection of

land tax. Land was only taxed since 2005.

The lands ministry also introduced a

resettlement policy to help previously

disadvantaged Namibians have access to land

with secure tenure.

The beneciaries of this resettlement policy,

according to the ministry are the following:

people without land, income or livestock;those who have few livestock; and people

with no land but with an income or a livestock

who need land to be resettled on with their

families.

Initially, the main beneciaries for resettlement

were the San, ex-soldiers, returnees from exile,

disabled people and displaced agricultural

workers. Under this programme, the ministry

allots acquired land to beneciaries for free,

for a lease period of up to 99 years. There

were suggestions that the lease agreementbe shortened to 50 years, or even as little as

ve years.

Another change made to structures inuencing

land and land reform, was the disbandment of

the Land Bank, rst introduced in 1944. This

body made way for the Agricultural Bank in

1991. At the same time the Agricultural Credit

Act of 1966 was repealed. The aim of the

Agricultural Bank is to provide loans at special

low interest rates to previously disadvantaged

persons in the purchase of farmland, and to

those who occupy communal land irrespective

of ownership.

In 1992, Cabinet introduced the Afrmative

Action Loan Scheme (AALS), managed by the

Agricultural Bank, to assist communal farmers

to obtain farmland in commercial areas. This

scheme was amended in 1996.

The AALS does not specically considerafrmative action loans to women, but the

Bank considered that women could be reached

through loans given to cooperatives.

According to the Communal Land Reform Act

of 2002, right holders were required to register

their land rights by March 2009, a date extended

from 2006.

The Ministry of Lands and Resettlement (MLR)

is currently consulting with various communities

on a proposed Land Reform Act that aims

to merge existing land laws that deal with

commercial and communal land separately.

* Land acquisitions

The MLR has only been able to acquire 90

commercial farms in the rst ten years since

independence.

It anticipated land acquisition and redistribution

of 9.5 million hectares within a ve-year period

during the second National Development Plan

period (2000 to 2005). This constitutes 25

percent of the total commercial land.

A recommendation was made that Government

raise its target from 9.5 million hectares to 15

million hectares by 2020. This would translate

into 41 percent of commercial land.

By 2006, the total area of commercial farmland

owned by previously disadvantaged farmers

had risen to 16.1 percent [according to data

provided by the Namibian Agricultural Union

(NAU)].

It was, however, noted that new farmers

received farms with up to 200 percent decreasein productivity, in other words, the farms hold

three times less stock than before.

In 2006, it was estimated that 240 000 people

are in need of land. What was not made clear

was whether these people need land for

agricultural purposes or for shelter.

By that year, Government has acquired 201

commercial farms, comprising 1 288 238

hectares of land, on which 1 561 families have

been resettled.

The verdict remains out: the process of land

acquisition under the willing-seller/willing-buyer

arrangement is considered as too slow since

sellers decide when to sell, in other words,

when market conditions are favourable. This

has meant that Government did not reach its

targets: only 90 000 hectares can be acquired

per year, instead of about 180 000 hectares.

Also in 2006, of the 18 farms that have been

issued with letters of intent for expropriationpurposes, only three have been bought.

In the now infamous Ongombo West saga,

the farms legal representatives decided to

have the farm bought through the willing-

seller/willing-buyer arrangement.

This is while the MLR stated that, contrary to

popular believe, it does not appropriate land

without due compensation.

Some commentators held that farms offered

have not been in good condition. These

were reportedly found with dilapidated

infrastructure, on mountainous terrain and

bush encroached landscapes. Or, they said,

many of these farms are in the desert or arid

areas, like farms in the Karas region offered

to potential settlers from northern Namibia.

No farms - or few - were offered in areas

suitable for crop farming.

As far as communal land is concerned,

allocations done by traditional authorities

before the adoption of the Communal LandReform Act have not been geographically

described, surveyed, registered or mapped.

This Act requires that all customary rights be

recognised and registered.

A suggestion was made that Government

adopt rural development policies that promote

agrarian reforms to benet the rural poor.

Deputy Minister of Lands and Resettlement,

Isak Katali, had stated that the ministry has

set a target of freehold land acquisition for

the year 2020 to be 4 100 000 hectares at

a price tag of N$1.025 billion. This means a

budget of N$68 333 333 per year.

Katali said the ministry has also targeted for 5

million hectares in non-freehold (communal)

land for development at a cost of N$800

million, or N$53 333 333 per year.

Post-settlement support he set at a total cost

of N$1.402 billion, or N$33 066 667 per year.

All in all, said Katali, the ministry wishes to

see that by the year 2020, a total of 26 727

families have beneted from land reform on

15 300 000 hectares of agricultural land at a

total cost of N$3.723 billion, which translates

into an annual budget of N$248 200 000.


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Stanley whisked Nujoma away to freedomBy Rhingo Mutambo

As Namibia celebrates its 20 years of

independence, Permanent Secretary

Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana, Chairperson of the

Information and Publicity Sub-Committee

of the National Inter-Ministerial Organising

Committee for the 20th Independence

Anniversary led a team of public media

to track down the unsung heroes and

heroines who played a pivotal role in the

quest for Namibias independence, and

document their stories.

The ground breaking journey was to start with

tracking the footprints of the Founding President

and the Father of the Namibian Nation, Dr. Sam

Nujoma, and patches together the missing links

of the unsympathetic road to Namibias freedom

and independence.

The expedition led the discovery to a small but

rich farm called Ohauveve in the Ganzi district

of Botswana, about 40 kilometers from the

Trans-Kalahari Border post, where the man who

transported Sam Nujoma into exile on 1 March

1960 under the instruction of the late Chief

Hosea Kutako, still lives.

A strong and meticulous 82 years old peasant,businessman and a father of seven, Mr.

Ludwig Kanduketu Stanley, has a very good

recollection of his youth and his contribution to

the Namibian liberation struggle. Stanley was

born to an English father and Herero mother in

Windhoek on 8 January 1928 and grew up in

Ombujomumbonde in the Okakarara district. As

a youth, he has witnessed the ill-treatment of

the black people in Namibia.

He said those days were so difcult that two or

more people were not allowed to caucus. As a

black person you were not allowed to buy white

bread and all your shopping would be done

through the window, he said. Stanley said his

church, the then Lutheran Evangelical Church

was also very discriminatory against blacks.

The church often collected money which it said

was going to be given to all the elderly people

and vulnerable members of the church, but

the money was only given to the white elderly

people. These and more cruel activities of

the then South African colonial regime and

its people, stirred up his hatred against the

merciless oppression and apartheid. This

discrimination by the church led to the birth of

the present Oruuano or Protestant Unity Church

of Bishop Asaria Kamburona.

Stanleys father also supported the Ovaherero

communities by secretly providing them with

ries to wage war against the Germans. His

great grandfather, the late Chief Kambauruma

fought the Germans at the Ohamakari battle inAugust 1904 until his rie caught re from the

heat of the ammunition. All these inuenced his

participation in the ght against colonialism.

Consequently, he opted to follow his father

at the age of 15, who had left for the British

Bechuanaland protectorate (Botswana) before

returning back to Namibia to

join the Chief Hosea Kutako

Council as a messenger or

transport ofcer. He later went

back to settle in Botswana in

1964.

While in Namibia, Stanley

contributed to the Namibian

liberation struggle by putting

his Chevrolet at the disposal

of the Chief Council free of

charge. I met so many people

at night and I dropped them off

at night. Some do remember

me, some dont, and I was

never intercepted in carrying

out my responsibilities, herecalled while smiling.

I was a hardworking and

trusted person under the Chief

and was later assigned with the

responsibility of transporting

people [including Dr. Sam Nujoma] in secret out

of the country, he said.

The big three: Nujoma, Libertina and

Stanley

Sam Nujoma who used to stay at Swakopmund

then, was being hunted by the apartheid South

African regime for conducting illegal meetings

at the time and he escaped to Windhoek.

The late Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero

communities, Mr. Clemens Mutuurunge Kapuuo,

had already sent the message to Chief Kutako

that an important person was coming through

the Karuaihe family to Gobabis. Chief Kutako

arrived in Gobabis from Aminius to bless

Nujomas way.

At that time the South West Africa Police had an

inkling that Nujoma was spotted in Windhoek and

Gobabis and they were looking for him. Stanley

was also being hunted as one of the suspected

persons who would know the whereabouts of

Nujoma.

Stanley says, Nujoma was received by Mr.

Hijakati Katjiuanjo and others in Gobabis, since

he was still at work. At that time he had never

met Nujoma in person but had heard about hisdaring activities and that the police were after

him. To protect him, Nujoma was hidden in a

house for three days, where the wife of Reverend

Assaria Kamburona, delivered a baby boy, a

former Member of Parliament Rudolf Hijonganda

Kamburona. In the OvaHerero tradition no one

is allowed to enter the house where a woman is

Mr. Lugwig Kanduketu Stanley anked by his wife Ms. Claudia Stanley(Front row: 3rd from left) and their daughter Elizabeth Stanley and

grandchildren, Namibias High Commissioner to Botswana. H.E. HadinoHishongwa (3rd from right), Botswanas High Commissioner to Namibia,

H.E. Mr. Duke Lefhoko (center), Information and CommunicationTechnology Permanent Secretary, Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana (far right),Charles Hill Traditional Chief, Mr. Mbao Kahiiko (Front row: 2nd from

left), Charles Hill District Commissioner Mr. Leoto Porati (Back row: 2ndfrom left), standing at the Ounongo river where Stanley alighted Dr. Sam

Nujoma into exile in the early morning hours of 1 March 1960. Mr. Lugwig Kanduketu Stanley in his early30s.



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15

in accouchement or in childbirth.

Hence, Chief Hosea Kutako has instructed

a young Stanley to whisk Nujoma overnight

into Botswana in the early morning hours of 1

March 1960, which he wholeheartedly did.

They drove up to few kilometres towards the

former Namibia-Botswana border post, and

had to switch off the lights and drive without

them so that the border post personnel would

not see them.

Before they reached the border post they

stopped, hid the car in the bush far from

the road and walked. It was raining and the

Kalahari sands had soaked enough water.

Nujoma was alighted at the Ounongo River

about ve kilometres away from the former

Namibia-Botswana border post and had to

nd his way through the gloomy dark of the

rain and a thick acacia forest through Charles

Hill town, to the late Mr. Richard Raahua

Kanguaikos homestead at Otjomatemba with

a map he has drawn for him.

At some point Nujomas shoe got stuck so

deep in the mud, they had to dig in the mud to

locate it, before they could proceed, recalled

Stanley. Since going back to Namibia in the day

light would mean risk for Stanley, he chose to

only escort Nujoma into Botswana. Charles Hill

was the rst entry for Nujoma into exile. In

my quiet moments I pat myself on the back

that Namibia is free and the person I have

transported in this country would become the

rst president of an independent Namibia, he

bragged.

The Kanguaiko family then handed him to

the late Loise Opperman Kavezeri and Daniel

Munamava in Maun who then helped him to

cross the borders of the British Bechuanaland

protectorate into the then Southern Rhodesia

(Zimbabwe) in 1960 from where he proceeded

to Tanganyika, Kenya, Sudan, Liberia and

nally reached the USA. Late Loise Opperman

Kavezeri is the mother to the late PLAN

commander Hanganee Katjipuka Kavezeri.

Stanley also transported the Deputy Prime

Minister Dr. Libertina Amathila, into exile among

others. Libertina was an attractive little girl with

a mini skirt and very long nice hair when she

came to my house, he said. He kept her at his

house in Gobabis before transporting her under

a pretext that her parents had just died in Maun

[Botswana].

He, however, had to cut her hair, to avoid the risk

of attracting attention and being interrogated.

Stanley had met Nujoma and Libertina for the

rst time after independence in 1994. It was

a great feeling when we met. He invited allMinisters to come and see me, he said. He

is expected to participate in the celebration

of Namibias 20th Independence Anniversary

celebration on 21 March 2010 for the rst time.

History making Chevy

Stanleys classic Chevrolet pickup, which is a near

wreck parked under a tree, used to transport the

people who would become high ranking leaders

in Namibia. He bought this vehicle in 1957 at a

cost of 70 Pounds from an English car dealer

called Eschorn in Gobabis.

Hosea Kutako travelled in this Chevrolet,

Nujoma travelled in this Chevrolet, Libertina

and many others travelled in this Chevrolet, he

proudly spoke of his historical Chevrolet while

pointing at the worn-out front left seat where

Sam Nujoma sat. This is Nujomas seat, he

murmured.

The 57 Chevy pickup as it affectionately used to

be called, is not only well kept, painted cream

and stationed on the drums under a big shady

tree, but has now become treasure that the

Namibian government can consider to acquire

and erect between the Namibia-Botswana border

posts as a national memorial shrine for tourists

and future historians to visit in their quest for a

deeper understanding of Namibias journey to

independence.

This is like a memory wall picture for me, and

it was ready all the time he reluctantly said as

he admired it once more with a walk around it

showing a rusted pump here and spade there,

all afxed to the car, in case of emergencies.This vehicle must be recognised for our

history. You are no longer a man of your

own, your vehicle is ours and you owe us

a very important history. Do not deny the

people of Botswana and Namibia your history,

pleaded the Namibian High Commissioner to

Botswana. H.E. Hadino Hishongwa. He was

part of the delegation that undertook to track

down people who through noble gestures

contributed to Namibias independence.

Hishongwa further said now was the time to

tell the people of Namibia and the world that

we did not ght alone. A hearsay history is

not a correct history, he stressed.

The Botswana High Commissioner to Namibia

H.E. Duke Lefhoko emphasised that the

heroic gift of the Chevrolet to the two nations

must be reciprocated nancially or with other

necessities.

Namibia-Botswana relationsThe relationship between Namibia and

Botswana dates back beyond the dark days of

German-Ovaheroro upraising and when South

Africa wanted to annex Namibia. It was during

these difcult times when the Botswana Chief

Muremi and Chief Kahimemua Nguvauva

exchanged a dog and a cow between 1700

to 1800. Chiefs Tshekedi Khama and others

also petitioned the United Nations against

Namibias annexation to South Africa and later

facilitated Reverend Michael Scotts contact

with Chief Hosea Kutako.

There is no difference between Batswana and

Namibians apart from following procedures

and laws in place, said Hishongwa, who

was part of the expedition that continued to

Sehitwa, Maun, Mahalapye, Francistown and

Gaborone.

When we wanted to petition the United

Nations, it was the Batswana Chiefs who found

us Reverend Michael Scott to draft our letters.

When Namibia got its independence the rst

president to visit Namibia was the former

Botswana President H.E. Ketumire Masire,

a signal that Botswana was the rst country

to recognise Namibia as an independent

sovereign state, said Hishongwa. Hundreds

of thousands of Namibians ed the country on

horse back, donkey carts and other modes of

transport through Botswana.

There were no refugees at that time in Charles

Hill but one wonders how the Batswana people

kept the Namibians. Hishongwa further said

Botswana and its people are poor, but theyalways shared the little they have, including

their assistance during the devastating efundja

(oods) two years back in the northern part of

Namibia.Mr. Stanley next to his 1957 Chevrolet.

Continues from page 14Stanley whisked Nujoma away to freedom


16/32


6

By 1990, the new government was

faced with the mammoth task of

transforming Namibias ethnically and

socially fragmented education system.

Up until that time, education was characterised

by major disparities in terms of the distribution

of educational opportunities and facilities among

different sections of the Namibian community.

The provision of education and training was

skewed in racial and regional terms.

Importantly also, there was a serious decit

of professionally trained people to take on

the necessary task to change the countrys

economic structure.

Governments response was to make educational

reform one of its priority areas in a bid to

improve the quality and output of learners at

all levels.

An initial publication, Towards a unied

education system considered resourcedistribution, equal learning opportunities, new

teaching methods, a new language policy, and

curriculum changes.

In the rst year of independence, the Ministry

of Education set itself ve goals: to provide

Education for a new NamibiaBy Catherine Sasman

improved and equitable access to education -

with a particular emphasis to increase enrolment

at primary level; to improve the quality in the

education system; to enhance democratic

participation in the system; to improve the

efciency of the system; and to promote life-

long learning.

The rst ministry in charge of education had a

broad mandate - for education, culture, youth

and sport.

Notwithstanding, it brought

Documents

MIB Bulletin March 2010 - Namibian Government