INAUGURATED: The newly inaugurated IUM Eenhana campus. PHOTO: Kenya Kambowe
INAUGURATED: The newly inaugurated IUM Eenhana campus. PHOTO: Kenya Kambowe

IUM chancellor slams steep land prices

Kenya Kambowe
International University of Management (IUM) chancellor Bishop Vaino Nambala has condemned the privatisation of land, saying it has become difficult and expensive for ordinary citizens to acquire land, especially those without collateral.Nambala made these remarks on Tuesday during the inauguration of the state-of-the-art N$45 million IUM Eenhana campus.



He said the cost of land has become exorbitant for ordinary citizens who want to establish institutions that make a difference in society.



“The issue of land is not necessarily the lack or scarcity of the land, but it is the price of the land,” Nambala said.



“The system of privatising land in Namibia makes it very difficult to get land to establish an educational or health institution or any kind of accommodation,” he added.



“It takes many years for an ordinary person without collateral to get money to buy land, to provide a building and to provide necessary infrastructure amenities.”



He argued that it is not African for land to be privately owned.



“By the way, why should the land be sold and privately owned? With an increased population, the land will never be justly and equitably distributed,” Nambala remarked.



“Do we also know that to buy land and own it privately is against the African culture and traditions? Some of us are hypothetically promoters of culture, yet at the same time we are champions of private ownership of the land. What a paradox.”



Over 1 000 students have enrolled at the Eenhana IUM campus for the current academic year.



[email protected]



Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-03-16

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment