Namibia is getting ready for a land conference from the 1st to the 5th of October, set to address land policies and how the process of restitution and reclamation can be expedited. Now, a report from the Namibia Land Statistics claims that 70% of land is owned by whites.
In South Africa, Zimbabwe and now Namibia, the land question has been a major talking point for a very long time, with calls and campaigns that the land should be returned to the original black owners.
In a 48 page report titled Namibia Land Statistics the Namibia Statistics Agency announced that 70% of arable land is owned by white farmers in Namibia. Despite gaining independence nearly 30 years ago, a huge population of indigenous Namibians still don't own the land. A similar case applies to South Africa, where 72% of the land is owned by whites.
At its declaration of independence in 1990, Namibia adopted the willing buyer-willing seller policy. The white minority which was less than 0.5% owned nearly all commercial land. The black population lived on communal land. With the government seeking to transfer 15 million hectares of farming land to blacks by 2020, the process has been seen as a little slow. According to the Namibian Agriculture Union, only 27% of the land was distributed in 2015. The land situation in South Africa is also precarious, and it influences the conversation in Namibia.
Unlike its neighbour South Africa, which seems to be set on taking radical land reforms (led by Economic Freedom Fighters), Namibia's President Hage Geingob has called for calm. All Africa quoted him as saying: "It is true that they came and stole the land 100 years ago, but a white boy who was born on that land has Namibian blood." FP
