From: wsargeant@IGC.ORG (Winslow L. Sargeant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:Namibia, ruling party decides to ex'
Date: 6 Apr 92 20:53:50 GMT

/* Written  9:07 am  Apr  6, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "NAMIBIA: RULING PARTY DECIDES TO EX" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Agriculture
Title: NAMIBIA: RULING PARTY DECIDES TO EXPROPRIATE LAND WITHOUT PAYING


windhoek, apr 3 (ips/godfrey karoro) -- the ruling south west
african people's organisation (swapo) has decided to expropriate
without compensation all farms owned by absentee-landlords.

in an interview with ips, swapo's deputy secretary-general
described land reform as a ''very emotional issue'' among the
swapo membership which must be resolved expeditiously.

''when the whites came here they started buying land by false
pretences and bribery,'' festus naholo said.

''indigenous namibians were driven to barren, semi-desert
parts of the country, while the rich agricultural lands and
areas with abundant mineral resources were taken by whites,''
naholo said.

the swapo official gave the example of the herero people
who, he said, were driven from the windhoek area to neighbouring
botswana, and now the government ''is having problems to get
them repatriated''.

''chiefs tried to get their land back but were thwarted by
whites who had superior weapons. some of them kept on protesting
and writing letters to the united nations until the new and more
serious national liberation struggle.''

''despite two years of independence, (black) namibians remain
the poorest in the country,'' naholo said.

according to a world bank report on namibia released here
this week, nine out of 10 namibians live in some of the worst
poverty in the whole of africa.

the report says namibia has the worst income distribution in
the whole of africa with 90 percent of the 1.4 million namibians
earning an average of 85 u.s. dollars, five percent (mostly
urban blacks) earning an average 500 dollars and the remaining
five percent (mainly white people) grossing an average 16,000
dollars per year.

naholo says this state of affairs can only be redressed if
land is equitably redistributed so that the majority blacks are
alloted productive agricultural land.

but, he points out: ''although the people are talking about
getting back their ancestral lands, swapo is working on the
premise that the land belongs to all namibians and not to any
one ethnic or racial group''. (more/ips)


namibia: ruling party (2)

cognisant of the need to redistribute agricultural land --
most of which is owned by white south africans and germans --
the government organised a land conference last year which was
attended by all interested parties, including farmers, chiefs,
political organisations and representatives from commerce and
industry.

''it was an emotional indaba (conference). but at the end,
resolutions were passed which were submitted to the ruling
party's congress,'' explains naholo.

a committee, set up at the congress, is expected to make some
recommendations before presenting them to the national assembly
as soon as possible.

''we believe the vast lands which belong to foreigners should
be expropriated without compensation. we cannot have land in
namibia owned by people living in bonn (germany) and pretoria
(south africa). it is unacceptable,'' naholo stresses.

the ruling party is also recommending:

-- farms owned by white citizens be reduced to a certain
size, and

-- under-used land be given to the people who can use it
profitably for the benefit of the individuals and the nation.

''i expect the government to settle all landless people,
especially ex-combatants, who cannot raise the 10 percent
required to qualify for a loan to develop or buy a farm,''
naholo says.

the swapo secretary-general noted that most whites agree
there is need for land redistribution but argue that they should
be paid the current market value of all land expropriated.

''however, there will be no compromise on foreign-owned land.
absentee landlords will not be compensated whatsoever. they use
productive land for leisure or hunting purposes, while namibia
is not self-sufficient in grain,'' he points out.

''we expect that the land reform policy will sail through the
national assembly as our representatives, who are in the
majority, must fight for the position of the party,'' adds
naholo. (ends/ips/gk/apc/ar/92)