Communities plead for clemency over N$500 000 legal bill

Legal fees of more than N$500 000 billed to Kavango communities for appealing ReconAfrica’s drilling for oil and gas on communal lands may financially ruin conservancies and community forests in these regions.Namibian civil society organisations have therefore called on government to waive the costs, with the communities appealing ReconAfrica’s permits for further drilling on their communal lands.According to a combined press statement, the Namibian taxation master will decide on 16 May whether these communities must pay up to N$520 757 for government and other legal fees after the High Court rejected their July 2022 request for urgent action to prevent the Canadian company from continuing to drill for oil and gas on community-managed land.“The court costs can financially ruin the conservancies and community forests set up by the state to protect the environment in the Kavango regions.”Conservancies and community forests in Kavango East and Kavango West complained that they had not been adequately consulted and that their consent was never sought, as ReconAfrica cut roads though community forests and drilled inside conservancies for oil and gas.They lodged an appeal to the environment minister to withdraw permission for further drilling activities on their lands.According to the statement, the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) then represented the community organisations at the High Court in an application to have their appeal to the ministry heard urgently.In solidarity“After the ruling went against them, the LAC received a bill of costs in respect of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) on behalf of Government Attorney and notification of taxation for another bill drawn in respect of [ReconAfrica].”Namibian civil society organisations and activists stand in solidarity with the Kavango communities in the call on government to waive legal costs, it said.“They call for the costs to the communities to be waived because under Namibian law, public interest law cases - which are levied by underserved communities or individuals - are protected from undue costs under the Protective Costs Order in the rules of the High Court of Namibia,” it said.“The government and courts must protect the interests of the people, instead of punishing the communities for exercising their constitutional right to stand against unfair treatment,” Max Muyemburuko, chairperson of the Muduva Nyangana communal conservancy, said.“We will stand firm for our democratic right to protect our environment. Kavango is the only land we have. We speak for the trees that do not have a mouth; we speak for the river that does not have a tongue. We have an unfinished task to conserve the environment for our children, grandchildren and all future generations. This is the very purpose of conservancies and community forests.”IntimidationThe statement further said the cost order from ReconAfrica’s partner Namcor was sent to intimidate Kavango organisations and communities and to deter them from taking further legal action.“These communities are being exploited; not in the name of actual development, but rather a neocolonial oil racket.“ReconAfrica’s own report - done by Sproule - said they had less than a 4% chance of finding a commercial resource when they came to Namibia. The company instead told investors and Namibians, without any actual evidence, that they had discovered a previously unexplored basin containing 120 billion barrels of shale gas,” it read.The statement added that the imposition of the legal costs cannot be justified in any way as being in the national interest, and that all court cost orders imposed on Kavango communities must be withdrawn.

Communities plead for clemency over N$500 000 legal bill

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-27

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Communities plead for clemency over N$500 000 legal bill

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-27

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