NAMIBIA�S white farmers are bracing themselves for a
descent into economic and political chaos Zimbabwe-style after a
decision by President Nujoma to draw up a list of foreign-owned
farms for seizure.
The hitlist, to be published in the new year, will include many
of the 350 German and South African-owned farms that the Government
says it requires to satisfy mounting demands for land reform.
Emergency legislation is also being rushed through the National
Assembly to make it illegal for foreigners to own land. Under the
terms of the Agricultural Land Reform Amendment Bill, anyone selling
land to an alien could be jailed for five years.
The land seizures list and legislation come hard on the heels of
increasingly vitriolic attacks on �arrogant white farmers� and
threats of dire consequences if white farmers do not �co-operate�
with the Government�s programme.
The Namibian National Farmers� Union, the black farmers�
organisation, has accused white farmers of attempting to sabotage
all reform by charging excessively high prices for land and has
claimed that the people are �growing impatient�.
Hardline members of the ruling Swapo Party have called on Mr
Nujoma to follow the example set by President Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
Swapo officials insist that they have no intention of seizing
foreign-owned land without compensation. But white farmers doubt the
Government has the cash to pay for seizures and fears that popular
passions, once aroused, could rapidly result in the land reform
programme spiralling out of control.
With fewer than two million people in a country the size of
Germany, France and Britain combined, Namibia has more elbow room
than any other nation in sub-Saharan Africa. But, unlike fertile
Zimbabwe, Namibia is arid. Only 8 per cent of the land is arable, 70
per cent is semi-arid, and the rest is desert. The bulk of farmland
in Namibia, which was annexed by Germany in 1884, was divided into
about 6,000 farms, many of which are the size of Luxembourg. They
were bought by white settlers during the 30 years that the country
remained a German colony.
Ethnic Owambo-speakers, who make up 51 per cent of the population
and are Swapo�s main support base, managed to retain most of their
traditional communal lands in the fertile north of the country. But
the Herero and Nama peoples from the arid central and southern
regions mounted a rebellion against the colonial authorities in
1904.
Tens of thousands of the rebels were massacred and stripped of
their lands. Those who were left were rounded up into native
reserves and used as pools of cheap labour for German colonial
farmers.
About 3,500 white commercial farmers own around 30 million
hectares of farmland, most of which is semi-arid and used for cattle
ranching and trophy hunting for wealthy European and American
tourists. Since gaining independence from South Africa in 1990, the
Government has resettled 30,000 people on 7.5 per cent of commercial
farmland bought from white farmers. But another 240,000 people still
want to be resettled.
Mr Nujoma has accused white farmers of refusing to sell �unused
land� and of demanding excessive prices for properties. Critics
insist that the Government�s Lands Resettlement and Rehabilitation
Department has consistently failed to buy farms that have come on
the market and regularly underspends its budget by two thirds
because of bureaucratic incompetence.
Jan de Wet, president of the Namibian Agricultural Union, the
predominantly white farmers� organisation, said that if 1 per cent
of the people wanting to be resettled on commercial farms were given
land, the Government would have to take over virtually half the
white-owned farms.
�There is a hunger for farmland in Namibia,� Mr de Wet said, �but
the reality is that farmland is a scarce resource. Not everyone can
own it.
�Most farmland is used for cattle ranching, which earns the hard
currency needed to feed the population. Farmland must be reserved
for farmers.�
While accepting the urgent need for more black commercial
farmers, Mr de Wet said that any attempt to achieve this at the
expense of the viability of the commercial farming sector would
bring catastrophe. His fear was that �the legacy of resentment over
the colonial past� could take control of the land reform programme.
�Almost 70 per cent of the people are dependent on rearing
livestock,� he said. �If that was threatened, tourism would collapse
and hunger would be at our door.�
Helmut Halenke, a German farmer whose grandfather bought the
family�s 6,800- hectare farm in 1908, said: �There are enough farms
for sale on the open market. It doesn�t make sense to expropriate
foreign-owned farms. Mr Nujoma must tell his supporters that not
everyone can have a farm. If he doesn�t, we will end up like
Zimbabwe.�
Vast African nation short of people and water
Population: 1.8 million
White population: About 50,000, mostly German and Afrikaner
descendants of white settlers who arrived in the territory between
1884 and 1914 while Namibia, formerly known as South West Africa,
was still a German colony
Size: 318,695 square miles � nearly twice the size of
Germany
Population density: 1.5 people per square mile, one of
the lowest in Africa
Ethnic balance: Black 87 per cent, white 6 per cent,
mixed race 6 per cent
Environment: Very limited fresh water, prolonged periods
of drought
Recent history: Won independence from South Africa in
1990 after protracted liberation struggle led by Sam Nujoma
Life expectancy: Women 37 years. Men 40.8 years
Infant mortality: 72.43 deaths per 1,000 live births
Main earnings: Ranching, tourism and diamonds
Industries: Meatpacking, fish processing, mining
Other resources: Copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, natural
gas, fish
Labour force: 500,000 � 47 per cent in agriculture, 20
per cent industry, 33 per cent services
Unemployment rate: 30 to 40 per
cent
