Africa-Press – Namibia. RUNDU – Minister of Urban and Rural Development, James Sankwasa discouraged the unabated sale of communal land in Namibia, saying there is no law in Namibia that authorises chiefs or their headman to sell communal land.
“Communal land is being sold left and right. Communal land is to be administered as communal land not as commercial land. A person is only allowed to buy land in urban areas, not communal areas,” he said in Rundu this week.
The minister was officiating during the official opening of the legal framework training workshop for members of the councils of traditional leaders, and secretaries of traditional authorities in the two Kavango regions and Zambezi region.
Sankwasa said communal land can only be allocated by a chief, to their communities.
“If I need land, I will go to a headman and ask for land and he or she will take me to the chief because if there’s a piece of land identified by the headman he cannot allocate it but he would take me to the chief, who will finally say yes, authorise and give it to you and not sell it to you,” he said.
“But what I’m observing is, the headman will first charge this person about N$20 000 or N$30 000, after the person have paid, then the headman will take that person to the chief,’’ he added.
The minister made an appeal to traditional leaders and chiefs to desist from selling land, especially to foreigners and rather preserve it.
He said such land should be preserved for future generations.
The training on the legal framework was aimed at strengthening the traditional leaders’ understanding of the legal landscape, empowering them to navigate it effectively and serve their communities more efficiently.
“By fostering a stronger understanding of the law, we aim to improve the quality of governance and ensure the protection of the rights of all citizens,’’ Sankwasa said.
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