Africa-Press – Angola. Ondjiva – At least 350 Namibian ranchers and farmers in illegal migratory situation have established residence in 17 rural areas of the Angolan southern province of Cunene, in the municipalities of Chiedi and Cafima.
The information was provided on Friday by the Director of the Migration and Foreigners Service of Cunene, Sub-Commissioner of Migration, Afonso Catenguela, when presenting the report on the registration of citizens who invaded land in the east of Cunene province.
These are citizens who entered the country illegally, with a higher incidence in marker 28/Omalapapa, marker 25/Emuyo and 33/Okambulukwena, whose front lacks defense and security forces.
He clarified that some of the citizens in question settled in the national territory in the 1970s and others more than 15 years ago, protesting the practice of transhumance (cattle grazing), and they fenced off the spaces with the purpose of establishing farms and building traditional residences.
During the registration process, he highlighted that it was possible to verify the exploitation of child labor, with Angolan minors subjected to pastoral activities, without any working conditions that guarantee human dignity.
He explained that the recruitment of these minors is carried out in the national territory by Angolans, under the mandate of Namibians, who then take them to remote areas and pay them wages of 800 Namibian dollars (equivalent to 35,000 kwanzas).
He also pointed to the alarming record of wildfires, indiscriminate felling of trees, focusing on the sunflower and mussive species, which are used for timber, without any legal authorization.
Afonso Catenguela stated that the citizens in question claim that they acquired documents through traditional authorities, who confirm the posting since the 1970s, as well as from the Namacunde Veterinary Services, which issued the transhumance permits illegally.
However, he stressed that the ranchers, instead of simply grazing their cattle, are showing disrespect for the country’s laws by entering and remaining illegally, under the terms of Article 99 of Law 13/1 of May 23, on the Legal Regime of Foreign Citizens in the Republic of Angola.
He added that the abusive stay of Namibian citizens in the communities is unacceptable, as there are legal mechanisms such as resident citizen documents and others related to immigration law.
To reverse the situation, he justified the need to open a border post at marker 28/Omalapapa, with the installation of all corresponding bodies, aiming to ensure the control and monitoring of migratory and customs movements.
The province of Cunene shares 460 kilometers of border with the Republic of Namibia, of which 340 are land borders and 120 are river borders.
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