Africa-Press – Namibia. KEETMANSHOOP Rural constituency councillor Gert Witbooi has lashed out at the Aroab Village Council for failing to implement a written directive by the //Kharas governor in 2016 to provide land for small farmers.
Witbooi, a firebrand activist fighting for land, says the drought affected farmers severely at the time, as well as those employed on farms. This led to the farmers requesting land.
Based on these circumstances, former governor Lucia Basson issued a written directive on 17 November 2016, directing the village council to provide three farming camps and exempt them from paying rent. The Namibian has seen a copy of the directive.
Aroab residents, who are mostly smallholder farmers, staged a demonstration yesterday about the issue. The farmers are demanding land falling under the Aroab Village Council townlands, claiming it is their ancestral land.
“This directive was supposed to be implemented four years ago already. However, the AVC always had a condescending and undermining attitude and have failed to implement the directive. That’s why this issue is not solved yet,” says Witbooi.
Vice chairperson Andre de Juy received the petition and says the matter will be re-tabled at council, as it remains critical. De Juy says it’s unfortunate that it has come to this level, as landlessness and unemployment unfortunately go together. He says the economy is no longer what it was, making it difficult to create jobs and employ more people.
“I will make sure that this petition reaches the full council and that your demands are heard.”
Aroab chief executive officer Elsa Laubscher declined to comment on why the directive was not implemented, saying they would first like to study the petition. In their petition the farmers and residents of Aroab said they are the rightful owners of the land, yet they are dying of poverty and hunger.
Group spokesperson Benjamin van Staden said the council is unwilling to service land for residents and to make land available for smallholder farmers. Van Staden said the farmers can make better use of the land by planting lucerne and maize. They can also start poultry farming, and small livestock farming on the land.”
“This land belongs to our forefathers but it was incorporated into the townlands of the village council, and now is the time for us to demand our land back, so we can farm for ourselves and become self-sustaining,” said Van Staden.
The protesters called on the minister of agriculture, the minister of urban and rural development, and the regional leadership to intervene in the matter.
“We are under great economic pressure as Covid-19 has made the living conditions for Aroab residents extremely difficult. We are also faced with a high unemployment rate and that leads to theft of livestock which is another big problem for us,” the group said. Aroab is home to about 5 000 residents. Employment opportunities are scarce and most residents depend on smallholder farming to earn a living.
