Support to development of namibia valuation standards 8. Communal land in namibia is state owned, but administered by traditional chiefs. A sociolegal perspective on the namibian land reform and resettlement process, lac, 2002, cites much of this literature. Resettlement and rehabilitation, land reform in namibia continues to exercise. Ministry of land reform mlr namibia agricultural union nau furthermore the ministry of home affairs and immigration mhai assisted the nsa with data validation of farm ownership. On the eve of namibias independence, therefore, most. Search results environmental information service namibia. Overview of preindependence land allocation in namibia contrary to popular belief, the postindependence land reform process is not the first land reform process in namibia s history. Yet, namibia is an uneven society with one of the highest levels of income inequality. Redistributive land reform and poverty reduction in namibia. Land reform management in namibia, south africa and. For example, the provisions of articles 212 and 22 of the constitution allow.
A comparative overview of experiences in zimbabwe, namibia, south africa and australia. Reconciling legality and legitimacy in constitutional democracy in namibia. Drafting of the agricultural commercial land reform act 2. Introduction at independence in 1980 zimbabwe inherited a highly skewed pattern of land distribution. The law reform and develoment ommission of namibia at 25 v chapter 8. Land reform versus agrarian reform in northern namibia. This article compares land reform management in namibia, south africa and zimbabwethree countries in southern africa sharing a similar history of racebased minority rule characterized by extensive land expropriation that pushed indigenous black populations into unfertile reserves during the colonial era. The recent announcements by the government, assumed to constitute a policy change, have given rise to much uncertainty about the legal ramifications of expropriation with regard to constitutional requirements and the terms of the agricultural commercial land reform act act 6 of 1995. Preparation of the roadmap for implementation of land tax 4. To provide for the acquisition of agricultural land by the state for the purposes of land reform and for the allocation of such land to namibian citizens who do not own or otherwise have the use of any or of adequate agricultural land, and foremost to those namibian citizens who have been socially, economically or educationally disadvantaged. Namibia is very dry, making much of the land suitable principally for pasture and leaving farmers who receive relatively small holdings from the land reform unable to earn a living.
In light of these conclusions, the study recommends the amendment of the land reform act to pave way for the abolition of the willingsellerwillingbuyer principle, which contributes to the problems of land acquisition. Land reform may consist of a governmentinitiated or governmentbacked property redistribution, generally of agricultural land. Land reform namibia university of science and technology. So is the hope that the conference would fasttrack a land reform process needed to address persisting inequitable access to and ownership of land in namibia. Land reform in namibia spatial analysis and land degradation. The law reform and development commission of namibia at. The need for land reform south africa suffered a long history of colonization, racial domination and land dispossession that resulted in the bulk of the agricultural land being owned by a white minority.
Access to and tenure of land were among the most important concerns of the namibian people in their struggle for independence. Communal land, property rights and traditional leadership current context what is at stake. Land reform also agrarian reform, though that can have a broader meaning involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. In 1990 the namibian government initiated a land reform programme to bring about a.
Its purpose is to redress the colonial injustices of land distribution. Zimbabwes land reform has not been neat, and huge problems remain. Namibia land statistics booklet september 2018 scan to visit our geoportal version 1. Legal analysis of farmland expropriation in namibia. Geingob, on the one part, and the ministry of land reform. The topic i was asked to address, as indicated by the title, is restricted to a discussion of land tenure, property regimes and traditional leadership in communal areas. Few studies have been done on land reform in namibia, and no studies were found on the namibian medias portrayal of land reform. Institute for poverty, land and agrarian studies plaas. Land reform can, therefore, refer to transfer of ownership from the more powerful to the less powerful, such as. Following is an overview of pre and postindependence land allocations in. Communal land, property rights and traditional leadership. Sl harring and w odendaal, one day we will all be equal. The approach affirms dr vuyokazi mahlati chairperson the advisory panel on land reform and agriculture iv the presidential advisory panel on land reform and agriculture the vulnerability of farm dwellers. Zimbabwe, on one side of the spectrum, is facing a crisis in democratisation due to its radical approach to land reform.
The nrp is part of the national land policy nlp, which has been implemented in this country since independence in 1990. The german and south african colonial governments also made land allocations. Land reform in namibia is one of the key questions still awaiting a solution that satisfies the majority of the population. A critical analysis of the land reform programme in zimbabwe. Land reform in namibia namibia, on the other hand, offers a more promising contrast. Giz supports namibia through its support to land reform programme since 2003. The backdrop to the land question was a process of land dispossession which brought approximately 43 per cent of all agricultural land into the hands of. In both south africa and namibia, land reform is critical for socioeconomic and political stability, but investors are anxious about how it will change the countries landscapes. The aim of the bill is, inter alia, to consolidate and amend the agricultural commercial land reform act, no. Like south africa and zimbabwe, namibia experienced a similar history of land confiscation although not all of the countrys ethnic groups were targeted, racial discrimination and whiteminority rule and land. Over the past 22 years, the government of namibia has aimed to reduce poverty and increase the production of agricultural and nonagricultural enterprises. In the process, the limits of postcolonial transformation have become evident.
The institute for poverty, land and agrarian studies plaas engages in research, training, policy development and advocacy in relation to land and agrarian reform, rural governance and natural resource management. Pdf since 1990, the namibian government has devoted itself, among other major issues, to a wideranging land reform programme with the. Disparities in land distribution emanating from the successive colonial regimes, coupled with protracted policy of land dispossession of the indigenous namibians, is a major challenge that the namibian government is facing. This article gives an overview of the different components of this cooperation. Implementation of land reform is on target with a total of 6,7 mio ha of land redistributed which equals 45% of the 2020 target. In the biggest land reform in africa, 6,000 white farmers have been replaced by 245,000 zimbabwean farmers. Instead, the government should design and introduce a heavy land tax system for absentee. Mlr ministry of land reform nau namibia agricultural union nsa namibia statistics agency nsdi national spatial data infrastructure nss national statistics system. A report on the land reform and resettlement programme in namibia by the ombudsman while we intended to submit our report to the hon. Until now, the ec has not been funding land reform in namibia. Drafting of the land valuation and taxation regulations 3. To provide for the allocation of rights in respect of communal land. Mediation and conciliation the law reform commission is an independent statutory body established by the law reform commission act 1975. The land problem in namibia is a direct result of the land policy of the apartheid colonial system that created imbalances in property relations in the territory.
With resettlement program, the government of the republic of namibia grn. Johannesburg, february 19, 2004 irin namibia s land reform process is being questioned by some who find the pace too slow, while others argue that its benefits. Individual rights over communal land took the form of rights of usufruct, with limited security of tenure. The rule of law in namibia 0 the constitutionality of legislative provisions or practices relating to corporal punishment,9 the restraining of prisoners by chaining them to each other by means of metal chains, 0 and homosexual relationships. Pdf on feb 1, 2018, henning melber and others published the political economy of namibia find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. It is committed to social change that empowers the poor, builds democracy and enhances sustainable livelihoods. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a. This status report on land reform in namibia has been prepared as an adjunct to the evaluation of the country strategy for the european commission. The rule of law in namibia konrad adenauer foundation. Agricultural commercial land reform act act 6 of 1995. At the first land conference in 1991, namibia was 30% urbanized. The former liberation movement south west african peoples organisation swapo is in government, and people expect it to resolve the land issues. Support to preparation of the 1st valuation roll 5. Broader issues of land reform, including redistribution, are beyond.
The directorate of land reform consists of two main divisions namely, the division of land. Livelihoods after land reform legal assistance centre. Land reform is probably one of the most difficult domestic policy issues to be dealt with by zimbabwe, namibia, south africa and australia. The stolen lands under the constitution of namibia. The colonial policy of property relations, including land tenure and access to land, were based on racial. With poverty delineated along functional groups and by urbanrural dualism, social cohesion is still a highly. Constitution, contextualising the land reform agenda within social justice, human development, and spatial transformation objectives. Towards comprehensive land tenure systems and land reform in. Calls for land reform in namibia stem form the historically unequal distribution of productive agricultural land. Communal land reform act 5 of 2002 namibia legal database. Reference points are the countrys first national land reform conference in 1991 and the second national land reform conference in october 2018.
Land reform is an important political and economic topic in namibia. Government gazette national planning commission of. Paper presented at the conference on ten years of namibia s constitution, organized by the faculty of law university of namibia, 11 september 2000. The analysis points to the contradictory factors at play, seeking to contextualise land reform in between the colonial legacy of racial discrepancies and ethnicity as well as class, as more. Minister of land reform before the start of the second national land conference, it turned out not to be possible for various reasons, among others. Economic versus sociopolitical rationale article pdf available in land reform, land settlement and cooperratives january 2004 with 497 reads how we measure reads. Namibia would entail putting the land reform program into effect or operations. Land reform act, 19951 addresses redistribution of freehold land, and the community land reform act clra focuses on tenure reform in communal areas. On november 9, 2016, the minister of land reform tabled the land bill for discussion in the national assembly republic of namibia, 2016. How alike is land reform in namibia and south africa.
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