5 373 beneficiaries resettled

5 373 beneficiaries resettledLand earmarked for development About 67% of the five million hectares of farmland targeted for redistribution by 2020 has been acquired. ELLANIE SMIT





WINDHOEK

A total of 556 farms at an overall cost of about N$2.23 billion were acquired through Land Reform Programme since its inception in 1990.

The collective size of these farms are more than 3.36 million hectares.

According to deputy director of public relations of the land reform and resettlement ministry, Chrispin Matongela, the ministry had a target to acquire five million hectares of land by 2020.

“So far 67% or 3.3 million hectares have been acquired.”

Matongela said a total of 5 373 previously disadvantaged beneficiaries have been resettled. This includes 2 134 men, 1 458 women and 26 juristic entities.

“For the remaining 1 755, the gender is not recorded as these are Group Resettlements and San Development Projects.”

Loan scheme

Matongela said that one of the instrumental apparatus aimed at equitable distribution and proper utilisation of land for sustained economic growth is the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme (AALS).

This programme is administered by the Agricultural bank of Namibia (Agribank)..

Under the AALS a total of 648 loans were granted to the amount of more than N$776.4 million. The land acquired under AALS amounts to 3.4 million hectares.

Matongela said by using the Population and Housing Census, it was estimated that there are 245 000 communal land parcels in Namibia.

According to him, a total of 135 106 out of the estimated 245 000 communal land parcels have been registered countrywide.

“The target is to have all the 245 000 estimated communal land rights registered by 2025, in line with Namibia’s Vision 2030.”

Build up

Meanwhile, a total of 90 000 hectares of land has been earmarked for infrastructure development under the Programme for Communal Land Development (PCLD).

The programme is implemented by the ministry and partners as part of a larger communal land reform programme, which falls under the financing agreement between the government of Namibia and the European Union.

Matongela says that so far, the development of infrastructure has covered a total area of 270 500 hectares in communal areas.

He said that infrastructure developments amount to 836 km of fences, 20 kraals, 44 new boreholes, 68 water point upgrades and 98 km of water reticulation in regions such as Zambezi, Kavango East, Kavango West, Ohangwena, Omusati, Otjozondjupa and Omaheke.

The programme is currently being extended to Oshikoto, Kunene, Hardap and //Karas.