Govt undecided over PM farms

JEMIMA BEUKES WINDHOEKFive months after controversially buying two farms from Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and her husband Tobias ‘Tona’ Amadhila, government still does not know what to do with the land.This while over 150 landless San people living on the farms remain in limbo regarding their future.Land reform minister Calle Schlettwein on Wednesday said the future of the farm is yet to be determined by the land advisory commission.“It is not yet decided what will be done with the farm. I am still waiting from the commissioners to give me the recommendation and then a decision will be made,” he said.Settlers on Farm Duwib said they are in the dark about the future ownership of the land and whether government will resettle them.Government bought Farm Goab No. 760 and Farm Duwib 1149 in the Otjozondjupa Region from Seize the Moment Investment CC, a company owned by the Amadhilas.Resettlement pleasSchlettwein last week said he was looking into a letter from the previous owner of the farm who had beseeched government to buy the land and resettle the San community living there.In this letter, the then owner Karl-Heinz Friederick pleaded with government that if the land falls in private hands, the people currently occupying it would be homeless.“The history of Farm Duwib and the Hai//om people goes back 100 years... So basically, I view these people as my family and Duwib has become their home,” he wrote at the time.Government declined to purchase the farms for resettlement purposes when they were offered by Friedrich in 2007, saying the land was not fit for resettlement.However, the state’s stance ostensibly changed last year when it bought the farms - which cost N$5.2 million in 2012 - for N$14.5 million.Languishing in povertyMeanwhile, settlers on the farm say they are treated like prisoners and are not allowed to gather firewood or even hunt for food.According to Jepunda Hondjera, who lived on the land with other settlers from the Hai//om San community, the inhabitants are languishing in poverty because they are restricted from eking out a living and many depend on handouts from Good Samaritans.“They live in shacks and they cannot go hunt, collect firewood or keep livestock. Most of them are old people and they rely on government handouts like drought-relief and old age grant,” he said.According to Hondjera, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has never engaged the community, while her husband’s presence in the area has been a menace.“Every time he came there, he warned them and sometimes he threatened them to leave the farm, saying it is his farm and he cannot tolerate it,” Hondjera said.He added that the couple made no improvements to the land since they took ownership, causing the value of the farm to depreciate.IntimidationHondjera further expressed surprise that government bought the farms at a higher price compared to when it was sold to Seize The Moment Investment CC in 2012.“They never brought anything there. They just warned and intimidated the people living on the farm and some people are warned to stay away from the farm,” he said.Another settler from the San community who also lives on the farm agreed that the condition of the land has depreciated over the years.“It was in a good condition - the homestead, citrus orchards and farm equipment such as windmills and reservoirs were all in a great condition. “But now, the general infrastructure such as the fence, water installations and windmills are all rundown because there is no farming taking place on farm. One wonders why it was bought,” the settler, who refused to be named, said.Attempts to reach Amadhila were unsuccessful.jemima@namibiansun.com

Govt undecided over PM farms

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-19

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Govt undecided over PM farms

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-19

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