Namibia Plans To Take Over White Farms

Namibia is to start taking land from white farmers, the president said yesterday.

What a crying shame, innocent Namibians get to starve also due to another stupid African govenernment. But you can bet that the government officials won't miss a meal.

" But you can bet that the government officials won't miss a meal."

Government officials will reward their corrupt officials and supporters with confisticated farms...just like Mugabe.

Nujoma is building a multi-million dollar presidential palace, at current exchange rates valued at around $34 million, or 4% of the Namibian GDP. That will also feed quite a few Namibians...

Houses bite the dust for Nujoma's mansion

August 06 2003 at 05:59AM

Windhoek - The Namibian government is moving to expropriate about 50 properties in the vicinity of a proposed new R240-million state house for President Sam Nujoma.

The move is for "safety and security" reasons, The Namibian newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Owners of houses and plots of land near the new state house complex in Windhoek's plush and hilly Auasblick suburb are to be forced to sell their property to the government, the newspaper said.

The news was broken to owners of the properties during a meeting with Minister of Works, Transport and Communication Moses Amweelo.

North Koreans are to build the new state house complex at a cost of R240-million. It will comprise a presidential residence and offices, a conference centre, banquet hall, cabinet offices and several guest houses to accommodate visiting dignitaries. Residents of Auasblick interviewed by The Namibian were angry.

But Amweelo said that all over the world, the residences of heads of state were "removed from the people for safety and security reasons".

He added that the new state house was "a national project, and it will stay for more than a hundred years from now".

ROFL(ASMP)!

Give me a break. Is Mugabe's estate a 'national project' too? Whatever.

Huge ego's, small intellect, no regard for the citizens of the country, one can see the pattern. It has played for many years in Africa, and I am holding my breath for Namibia and SA.

Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - Web posted at 10:24:15 GMT

Time running out on farm property forms

PETROS KUTEEUE
GOVERNMENT has threatened unspecified action against commercial farmers who fail to submit information about their property by the end of this month.

Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Minister, Hifikepunye Pohamba, said at the end of last week that since the Ministry embarked on Government's farm data verification exercise in November, only 60 per cent of commercial farmers had responded.

"After the 30th of this month, anyone who has violated the law, action will be taken [against them]," Pohamba warned.

The Minister charged that the 40 per cent of farm owners who still have to submit their forms are derailing the implementation of the land tax.

The Ministry plans to release a valuation roll of commercial farms in Namibia - through which the land tax will be determined.

Most responses have come from the Kunene Region where 78,7 per cent of commercial farmers submitted their verification forms.

The lowest number of respondents have been from the Erongo Region - only 55,4 per cent, despite the fact that the number of farms in Erongo were less than in other regions such as Oshikoto and Otjozondjupa.

Meanwhile, the Lands Minister said he had not received any complaints about illegal fencing in communal areas since the introduction of land boards in March.

"I appreciate the information you provide ... and I would appreciate your efforts even further should you provide my Ministry with the names of people who are presently doing that (illegal fencing)," Pohamba told a reporter, when it was put to him that illegal fencing was in fact still continuing in communal areas.

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NAU: 'Stay cool on expropriation'

CHRISTOF MALETSKY
THE Namibia Agricultural Union has appealed to white farmers to stay calm and not to react irresponsibly following a Government announcement that it plans to expropriate commercial farms.

The union's President, Jan de Wet, said yesterday that the announcement "came as a shock but, like death, was inevitable".

"If it is not handled in a proper manner, it will disturb stability in the country and affect the economy," he said.

The farmers said they did not see the need for the introduction of the expropriation process.

For them the 'willing-seller, willing-buyer' concept that Prime Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab described as slow and cumbersome had worked with around 700 farms, or 10 per cent of available farmland, having changed ownership in the past six years.

"The 'willing-seller, willing-buyer' process did work and it created stability and peace of mind for farmers.

A lot of farms were offered to the Government in the last six years but their purchase was waived.

At this stage, I don't see the necessity for expropriation," he said.

When he announced the expropriation on Wednesday evening, Gurirab said farmers who lost their farms would be justly compensated as provided for in the Namibian Constitution.

"Committed to seeing through the 'willing-seller, willing-buyer' approach, Government has witnessed with dismay and outrage how farm workers are left destitute and dumped with their families and belongings on the roadsides by their former employers," the Prime Minister said.

He said more than 240 000 people were still waiting to be resettled, and that commercial farmers inflated farm prices, making it difficult for Government to buy land.

De Wet said it was unclear which farms were earmarked, how transparent the process would be, what criteria would be used to identify the farms' and how Government would arrive at just compensation.

"To the farmers I would like to say that we must not overreact.

Be cool, calm and collected.

I believe we and the Government don't want to disturb stability.

We will approach the issue with the necessary responsibility and coolness," he said.

He said they wanted the process to be carried out legally and be handled in a transparent manner.

The union leadership argued that labour unrest was not to blame for Government's decision to expropriate farms.

"We had four incidents last year that involved four evictions.

Four commercial farmers and 13 farm workers were involved.

If there had no been timely intervention by us and the Government, it would have disturbed the peace," De Wet said.

He said compared to the around 4 000 farmers and an estimated 45 000 farm labourers in the country, it was a drop in the ocean and should not be blown out of proportion.

Since 1995, Government has set aside N$20 million a year to buy land.

This was increased to N$50 million last year.

The plans for expropriation remained vague yesterday.

Sources said Government still needed to work out details surrounding its implementation.

In the meantime, De Wet and and fellow farmers are hoping that things will not go the Zimbabwe way.

"We must avoid that at all costs," he said.

The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) is set to respond to the Government announcement today.

Looks eerily familiar to Zim, where the farmers unions had the exact same reaction. I wonder why they don't challenge this in court now, before it begins?

RIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!!!! Look who is talking about acting irresponsibly! hahahaha... this is a HOOT. They woke up from their communist dictator fantasy and perhaps took a lear jet once around Zimbabwe to see where the dustbowl ends and Namibian farming begins.

I hope they cut it off before everything starts sliding downhill.

Well, H+LL, if the "Indigenous Peoples" manage to produce as much as the "Previous Farmers,"--So Be It.

SADLY,--to Date--, the "Usurpers" of the Lands seem,-Inexplicably-, unable to produce as much "Product" as those "Laboring Under" the Previous "Regime!"

"Political Correctness" PROHIBITS US from examining the TRUE CAUSE of such Failure!!

DESPITE the BEST WISHES & BEST FANTASIES of THOSE who WISH that the World were "OTHER THAN IT IS;" We must ACCEPT the "World" we have!

This is a Difficult Proposition for "Idealists."

"AMERICA" is a CONSERVATIVE Entity.

The "Harder" Social Liberals attempt to "Foist" Their "Agenda" on "Americans,"--the MORE RESISTANCE the "Liberals" will encounter!

"GAY MARRIAGE" is a "Lost Cause" in America--, "Civil Unions" will work.

The "Level of Social Change" expected by the "Gay Community" WILL NOT HAPPEN!;--the BEST the "Gays" can get is "Civil Unions!"

'Push TOO HARD, & "Homosexuality" will--again--be driven "Underground!!"

"The Message;"--Settle for What You Need, Since "What you Want" will set you back a Century, & Drive you "Underground, Again!"

Doc