The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform says it has completed the consolidation of the Commercial Agricultural Land Act and the Communal Land Reform Act into a single Land Bill.
The Bill is set to be introduced in Parliament during its next session in 2025. This comes as the first draft of the Bill was circulated to the public in 2010 with the aim of ensuring that all land in Namibia holds the same status.
The Bill among other things, outlines the establishment of communal land boards, detailing their powers and functions.
It includes provisions for the demarcation of communal land areas, the allocation of rights related to communal land, and the roles of chiefs, the Minister and traditional authorities.
Additionally, the Bill addresses commercial land reform by establishing the Land Reform Advisory Commission, which will advise on this aspect of land reform.
It grants the State a preferential right to purchase agricultural land and allows for the compulsory acquisition of agricultural land by the State.
Furthermore, it prohibits foreign nationals from acquiring agricultural land and regulates their leasing of such land.
The Bill was tabled in the National Assembly in 2016 but was subsequently withdrawn to incorporate resolutions from the second national land conference, as announced by the then Minister of Land Reform.
This conference took place in October 2018, resulting in the adoption of 40 resolutions. A revised version of the Land Bill was later circulated in September 2020, reflecting some of the resolutions made during the 2018 conference.
Speaking at the national validation to review the final draft of the resettlement criteria workshop, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Calle Schlettwein said the legislative advancement, coupled with the finalised Resettlement Criteria, signifies an effort to create a fair and sustainable land distribution system in Namibia.
“We have made good progress and finalised the review of the Commercial (Agricultural) Land Act and the Communal Land Reform Act and consolidated them into one Bill, which is now finalised after some delays in drafting it and shall be tabled in Parliament during its next session in 2025,” he said.
He further explained that the workshop marks the culmination of extensive consultations held across regions, aimed at creating transparent and effective land allocation guidelines.
The new criteria emphasises a “needs-based redistribution,” ensuring that 70% of resettlement beneficiaries come from the region where the land is located, while 30% will be available for disadvantaged Namibians from elsewhere.
Additionally, the criteria will address the needs of marginalised groups, including farm workers who have faced homelessness due to past resettlement practices.
“The Revised Resettlement Criteria are part and parcel of the reviewed Resettlement Policy, which was approved after a discussion in the National Assembly and were subsequently presented to the Land Reform Advisory Commission (LRAC) for scrutiny and editing. It was thereafter presented to the Regional Stakeholders for input and comments. These consultations are a clear dedication towards a responsive land reform policy,” he said.
He also stressed that significant budgetary allocations are essential for the successful implementation of the new resettlement policy.
“The current rate of funding land reform falls far short of what is needed to implement a meaningful land reform. For a successful implementation of the new resettlement policy budgetary allocations must be improved significantly in future,” the Minister said.
