Commercialisation of communal land ends in land grabbing - experts

Uncertain land tenure and the fact that State agents present communal land as unused and available make communal dwellers extremely vulnerable to large-scale land losses and displacement as local and foreign investors clamour to put up commercial projects on such land. A recent publication by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa, ‘Large-scale land deals in Southern Africa: Voices of the People’, suggests a dramatic growth in big land deals not just in the southern African region, but also globally. During 2007 and 2008, this “global land rush” as it is now termed, resulted from sharp increases in food prices, the global economic meltdown, fuel price volatility and growing interest in bio-fuels. PLAAS suggests this keen move into farming and other commercial ventures by investors in communal areas is on the one hand considered a welcome development, but is also vehemently criticised as a disguise for of land grabbing. Associate Professor Ruth Hall at PLAAS suggests that land grabbing is disguised in political terminology such as “large-scale land acquisitions”, “rising interest in farmland”, and “responsible agricultural investments”. Theodor Muduva, a paralegal and public outreach officer at the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), says African countries are particularly susceptible to this new form of land grabbing. As illustration, a World Bank report of 2009 stated that the central “Guinea-Savannah” zone of Africa constitutes a “vast under-utilised land reserve” despite the fact that this land is in fact claimed, used and occupied. Hall, however, points out that customary land tenure is often unrecognised by governments and investors. Customary use rights, she adds, are also inadequately recognised either in law or in practice with huge contestation over who the holders with real property rights are. In 2010, the World Bank reported that 50% of large-scale land acquisitions in the world were taking place in Africa as major foreign nations acquire land to meet their need for food, fuel and financial demands. These nations are mainly Asian (primarily for food supply), the Gulf States (interested in fuel), as well as European and Northern American banks, financiers and sovereign funds responding to the financial crises at home. Hall observed that all of these apparent investors are in partnerships with African governments and/or domestic partners. In 2013, PLAAS approached the LAC to embark on a study that investigates large land deals in communal areas and the policy implications thereof. Muduva says through its investigations, the LAC team became aware of proposals from multi-national agricultural corporations for the development of large-scale irrigation projects mainly along the water-rich north-eastern regions of Namibia. The LAC study that commenced in 2013 considered four potential irrigation projects in the Kavango East and Zambezi regions on land ranging from just below 800 hectares to close to 30 000 hectares. The investors usually cited interest to grow cash crops such as maize, groundnuts, wheat, vegetables and Lucerne and promised benefits such as employment, skills transfer, food security and royalties to traditional authorities. But, noted Muduva, affected communities are usually in the dark regarding compensation. Consultations with these communities have similarly been non-existent. Consultation happens at higher levels: with traditional authorities who do not have to be democratically elected by their subjects, as well as local politicians with no mandate whatsoever under the Communal Land Reform Act (CLRA). To make matters worse, most communities do not understand laws that can protect them. There are allegations of bribery and corruption to ensure investors’ wishes are granted. Equally, said Muduva, environmental impact assessments are in some cases not done or delayed, while delays in project implementation cause frustration and confusion. With the exception of the Katonda project in Kavango West which has been stopped entirely, Muduva was unwilling to disclose the investors, be they Namibian or foreign, because of considerations for research ethics as the study is not yet completed. Katonda project Demeter International, or Dem-Inter, a company formed in 2004 to establish and manage large farms in Russia on behalf of investors, has since expanded into southern Africa. It had gone into a partnership with the Labour Investment Holdings (LIH), the business arm of the Swapo-affiliated National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), to form a subsidiary company, LIH Demeter Agribusiness (LDA) with the intention to develop an agricultural project on 10 000 hectares of forested land in the Bwabwata National Park in the Mukwe constituency in Kavango East. The LDA clinched a 25-year leasehold agreement with the Hambukushu Traditional Authority, which at that time got a 15% stake worth N$20 million in the venture. This project, however, was marred by controversy from the word go. It would have meant that the Khwe San, the majority population in the park, had to be relocated. The Hambukushu Traditional Authority does not recognise the status of the national park nor the land claims of the Khwe San. The Khwe San, as echoed by other local and international pressure groups, cited environmental concerns and the fact that no consultations were done with them. Fumu Mbambo irrigation project This project was initiated by a former journalist turned teacher and religious leader and was pitched to a well-known Namibian businessman based in the Kavango East region. The proposed project is named after the leader of the Hambukushu Traditional Authority, chief Erwin Munika Mbambo, and is on an 891-hectare piece of land close to the Bagani village about 200 km east of Rundu. The intention is to grow maize, beans, cabbage, sorghum and nuts. Muduva says although all the legal requirements as stipulated in the CLRA to secure leasehold were followed, the implementation is delayed because of outstanding issues in the environmental impact assessment report. Similarly, 38 community members who were forced to give up their crop fields, have yet to be compensated for it and have yet to see the promised benefits. Ndiyona mills irrigation project Muduva says this is the most controversial proposed agricultural project that has split the affected community right down the middle. Those against it, reportedly the more educated members of the community, say there have not been any consultation and are concerned about future land rights. Those in favour of it, the unemployed youth and elderly, argue that it will create badly-needed jobs. There were claims that the Ndiyona Constituency Councillor, Hildegard Mangundi, the late governor of the Kavango region, Marius Nekaro, Gciriku Traditional Authority Chief Kassium Shiyambi, and a village headwoman had reached an agreement with an unknown South African investor alleged to be in partnership with a Namibian. Muduva says this Namibian partner maintains that he is the sole applicant for the project and denies any South African involvement. Initially, 2 000 hectares were allocated, but an investigation by the then Ministry of Land Reform into this deal in 2013 after a public outcry, compelled the investor to apply for only 778 hectares. The ministry’s investigation also found that legal procedures at the start were not followed; the investor’s application in 2014 did comply with the law, however. The opposing group is still fighting against this project and by the middle of this year (2015) the project is still in limbo. Namibia agricultural renewables In 2010, a Namibian investor was given leasehold on 29 873 hectares of land in the Sibbinda constituency in the Zambezi region. This was for an agricultural project along the Zambezi River from which water was to be extracted for lucerne as the main crop. Muduva said although there was no consultation with local communities, the traditional authority has requested for an extension of the lease agreement which has in the meantime lapsed despite the fact that the investor has since “mysteriously disappeared”. Communities in various villages that will be affected are in Sibbinda, Mazoba, Lusu, Masokotwane, Muketela, Linyati and Chinchimane. In May, the Ministry of Lands said it is now considering this area for its programme on infrastructural development in communal areas. WINDHOEK CATHERINE SASMAN