RESOLUTIONS OF THE 2nd NATIONAL LAND CONFERENCE

1. Land Acquisition based on the principle of willing-seller, willing-buyer
a) this principle should be abolished and replaced with alternative acquisition methods
b) develop and implement an accelerated land delivery method or approach

2. Expropriation of agricultural land (foreign-owned farms, underutilised land, absentee landlords, farm size, numbers
a)foreign-owned agrarian land should be expropriated with just compensation
b) all underutilised commercial land owned by Namibians are also eligible for expropriation
c) strengthen intra-institutional coordination in the expropriation process
d) develop reliable data on land management and administration
e) standalone legislation on confiscation should be drafted and implemented
f) implement the principle of One Namibian One farm
g) restrict the sale of farmland trough subdivision/ ownership by a close corporation, companies and any other entities
h) the farm size per individual should be regulated, taking into account the variance of agro-ecological zones, carrying capacity and farmland use

3. Resettlement police and criteria
a) all related legal instruments should be reviewed, reformed and harmonised for accelerated and successful land redistribution
b) develop and enforce regulations against dual grazing
c. resettlement policy should provide security of tenure to allow bankability of the allotment/ farming units
d) develop a comprehensive support package for the productivity of resettlement farms
e) overcrowded group resettlement farms should be given security tenure
f) regional structures to embark on public awareness on how to benefit from various land reform programmes
g) ration of land allocation between dispossessed communities, war veterans of the liberations struggle and their dependants should benefit from the 70% share while 30% is for the national pool
h) different resettlement models should be developed to cater for different land needs and aspirations of the citizens
i) time frame from acquisition to actual resettlement should be reduced through policy and legislative reforms
j) differentiate between settlement programme and resettlement programme

4. Pre and post-resettlement support
a) there should be constant monitoring and review of the comprehensive resettlement support package
b) tenure system review for the resettlement farms to become bankable to attract investment, increase agricultural productivity and employment creation
c) develop tailor-made support packages to resettlement beneficiaries and commercial areas based on business plans
 

5. Affirmative action loan schemes
a) re-evaluate the scheme, and its products to achieve its objective that of empowerment of the formerly disadvantaged people and to increase the contribution of the agricultural sector to the GDP
b) land tax system should be reviewed to attract investments and productivity
c) reintroduce 30% government guarantee for buying commercial land

6. Accessibility to property by women, youth, war veterans, Botswana returnees and person with disabilities
a) review all policies related to land redistribution to ensure the prioritisation of women, youth, war veterans, Botswana returnees and the person with disabilities
b) develop a training and capacity building programme in agriculture meaningfully to the land which they may be allocated
c) agricultural education should form part of the broader curriculum at all educational levels

7. Farmworkers (including generational farmworkers)
a) develop a policy to protect generational farm workers by providing alternatives to residence or providing a portion of the land to such workers
b) develop a policy to compel farm owners to grant unhindered access to identified graves and heritage sites and structures
8. Disadvantaged communities
a) establish a system to ensure the prioritisation of various categories of disadvantaged communities in land reform programmes
b) review and harmonise all legal instruments related to underprivileged communities
9. Access of robust communal small scale
a) develop a special programme of identifying and assisting potential strong farmers to mitigate to commercial land and decongest communal farming areas
10. Removal of the veterinary cordon fence
a) government to gradually remove the veterinary cordon fence taking into consideration various factors
b) the abattoirs in communal areas should be renovated and upgraded to class A for export
c) there should be special arrangements for procurement of the northern communal farmers produce through the public procurement system
d) government should start the process to remove the cordon fence gradually
11. Land allocation & administration by traditional authorities, communal land boards
a) the status quo of public land allocation and administration by traditional and land board must be upheld. The government should continue rendering support to the implementation of the Act to enhance effective tenure rights in communal areas
b) the Communal Land Reform Act and its regulations should be revisited top redress the current challenges
c) All communal communities should have traditional authorities to deal with land matters in their areas of jurisdiction
d) government to coordinate the relocation of communities affected by the expansion of urban areas
e) that government to coordinate activities about mining and the protection of small miners including shares by traditional authorities in such mines closely
f) any board to be established must include youth, a person with a disability, war veterans and women
g) that section 4 of the Communal Land Resettlement Act should be amended because the number of representatives of traditional authorities is limited to one member, while some traditional authorities have jurisdiction over three constituencies. The Act must include representation from each constituency. Section 4 of the Act must be amended to include veterans
h) that succession guidelines of leasehold land rights should be made explicit as stipulated in section 26 of the Act with regards to customary land rights
i) government to assist in the relocation of communities affected by the expansion of urban areas
j) Section 28 of the Act should be amended to accord traditional authorities recognition of existing land rights but not the communal land board as the board came only in existence after the enactment of the Act in 2003
k) all land-related matters in communal areas must be dealt with at traditional courts before they are dealt with at High Court
l) land board to ensure that all family members/ siblings are consulted and investigated is done before that land is registered in the name of the family
12. Communal land development (future role of the communal areas)
a) fast-track the registration of land rights in communal areas and capacitate the regional offices to register efficiently
13. Land rights registration in communal areas
a) establish delimitation committees to address the issue of recognised and unrecognised traditional authorities and overlapping of traditional jurisdictions
b) introduce land committees in areas where there are no recognised tradition authorities
14. Illegal fencing in communal areas
a) increase the fine for illegal fencing and the law enforcement agencies should assist the traditional authorities on the removal of illegal fences
b) introduce spot fines as it is a case on the forest act and poaching. Furthermore, the government should consider amending the relevant legislative provisions to shorten the process of removing illegal fences
15. Access to communal land
a) government should develop and maintain a database containing names of beneficiaries to avoid multiple and ownership within one region and between different regions
b) non-residents when applying for land should respect and uphold the customs and traditions of the local traditional community
c) land administration should be done procedurally through the traditional authorities
d) legislation should make provisions for consulting farmers in the area before allocating land to other people
e) create and expand communal areas in the regions for allocation to the landless and evicted farmworkers
f) establish agro-industrial centres in constituencies to serve as catchment areas for the landless and evicted farmworkers but also as a growth point
16. The impact of climate change on productivity
a) adaptation and mitigating mechanism should be integrated within the land reform agenda, with specific emphasis to devise appropriate technologies for sustainable farming
b) the government to prioritise the development of seawater desalination for agricultural production along the Namib Desert
17. Dual grazing
a) government should establish a body to purchase livestock from northern communal farmers to enable them to move beyond the cordon fence
b) effective monitoring and preventative measures should be designed and implemented to discourage such practice with a view of relieving pressure on communal areas
c) government institutions, traditional authorities and relevant law enforcement units should jointly monitor its full implementation
18. Wildlife conservation and utilisation rights
a) traditional authorities should avoid allocating land to people in wildlife corridors
b) the nature conservation ordinance 1975 should be repealed, and protected management areas bill should provide proper administration and management of human-wildlife conflict
c) existing protected areas should be strengthened and developed regarding infrastructure and marketed to attract and increase visitors
d) the revenue generated by the protected araes trough park entrance fees should be re-invested in their management and prevent human-wildlife conflict and poaching, while other forms of income generation from protected areas should remain with the central stare revenue
e) commercialisation of indigenous natural plans must be scaled up and accelerated for the benefit of producers and rural communities
f) any measure to settle people or for people to settle in wildlife corridors should be discouraged/ not considered
g) the government should provide freehold land titles in communal areas
h) pastoral land rights should be introduced to allow extensive livestock producers to manage the land sustainably
i) there should be different categories of land tenure systems with land bankability options at can be used collateral for economic activities in the communal areas to access financial assistance and enhance productivity
j) government should consider a financial package under Agribank for customary land right holders
k) 50 ha provided for in the communal land reform act for customary land rights should apply to crop production only
l) group rights should be considered for livestock farming without the limitation in hectares depending on the availability of land
m) the government should conduct a study on the current land tenure systems to determine its impact and productivity for sustainable land management
n) a study should be conducted to assess alternative tenure systems to harmonise gaps in the current tenure system to unlock the commercial value of communal land
19. Transfer of large communal farmers to commercial land
a) government should mobilise additional funds to acquire more land under the Land reform programme for the successful implementation of the scheme
b) the agriculture ministry database should be sued to identify communal farmers with large numbers of livestock to encourage them to move to commercial areas and reduce pressure on communal land
c) the government should evaluate the effective implementation of the affirmative action loan scheme to assist such farmers in improving their production
d) policies already developed should be fully implemented to allow for communal farmers to graduate into the resettlement programme and eventually into the action loan scheme programme. Priority for resettlement should be given to those with a lot of livestock in communal areas
e) new and emerging commercial farmers should continue to receive induction and training before and after resettlement or acquisition of action loan scheme including extension services
20. Residential land within national parks
a) communities on the farms should be assisted with the development of their areas to improve livelihoods
b) communities should have tourism concession in the national parks
c) the zonation plan of national parks should be maintained and should provide for multiple use area where communities are residing
d) measures to reduce the area of protected areas will undermine the viability and value of the national parks and should be discouraged or not considered.
21) Urban land/ housing prices
a) develop an urban reform programme and policy to address the proposed strategic interventions
b) the government should build capacity at all levels (central, regional and local) to reduce costs
c) standardised templates and guidelines for local authorities to be developed in line with relevant public-private partnerships act to eliminate intermediaries in housing developments
d) foreign investments in real estates should be regulated, and no land should be sold to foreigners
e) the government should create infrastructure financing funds
f) ultra/ low income should be fully subsidised through local authorities by government
g) local authorities should enter into a partnership with first time home buyers as part of a structure purchasing scheme
h) land building regulations and link local material value chains to housing construction
i) government to subsidise low-income housing and essential services to increase affordability
j) institute a tax on the profits from the property including the primary residence. have higher transfer rates for secondary and tertiary property acquisition and reduce transfers for the first time
22. Urban land/ housing delivery
a) make land available for local industrial development
b) development of national spatial planning framework would be integrated into the public sector
scale up the community-based land delivery process for the lower income community as they have a much bigger impact
c) implementation of the new town and regional planning act
d) conduct a legislative review of all legislation about land delivery
e) acquire farms adjacent to urban areas and resettle people from those towns
f) foreigners may own urban industrial and business land in urban areas but not for residential
g) timeframe for land delivery should be limited to six months
h) regulations (building, zoning, density) should be flexible so that incremental approaches can be adopted
i) National Statistics Agency to assist with the development of demographic statistics per local authorities areas, including data from community land information programme
j) shack dwellers to be accorded land title
k) prioritise large-scale informal settlement upgrading and integrated, planned urban expansion areas (for new urban residents) and mainstream to all local authorities
l) revise standards for building materials (perhaps in certain zones) to allow for more flexibility including low-cost energy for low-income housing
m) build 300 000 housing units/ opportunities over the next seven years. This is a national emergency.
n) residents in settlement areas should be allowed to purchase land
23. Tenure insecurity for informal urban settlement
a) expedite piloting and roll out the implementation of flexible land tenure act to all local authorities
b) revise relevant legislation to protect squatters' eviction
24. Land sizes for housing and building standards
a) local authorities must provide a range of sizes for houses/ land including vertical development whereas less than 300m2 is subject to approval in consultation with communities and minister
b) remove statutory minimum building values in the conditions of establishment
c) relevant government agencies to develop standards for local and alternative building materials and redraft standards for building low-cost houses
d) investigate how to incorporate the housing development and construction into the local value chains to support economic development
f) government to promote the manufacturing of local building materials
g) secure the support of banks and other financing institutions to finance houses that are constructed with local/ alternative building materials
h) adopt incremental housing designs layouts and construction methods
i) allow for partially serviced land (sewerage and water) to be sold. Other services can be added.
25. Sustainable funding formula for regional councils and local authorities
a) develop funding formula from central government from national taxes to fund housing and land development at regional councils and local authorities levels
b) government to continue and increase funding to regional councils and local authorities for low-income groups
c) recovery of the cost for the infrastructure should come from the service providers to the regional councils and local authorities or the value of the asset base should be returned to the subsequent developments
26. Rent Control Act legislation
a) implement and regulate the Act on rent price control
b. local authorities in conjunction with relevant stakeholders to make available land for student housing rental
c) there should be an opportunity development to allow access to the property through rental with the option to buy at a later stage and rental is subtracted from the price
d) transfer government houses as rental social houses to various regional councils and local authorities
27. Rezoning of private farmland in urban areas
a) a moratorium should be in place for rezoning and sale of private farmland
28. Access to finance for housing
a) municipality should build social housing for the rental market
b) review and revive the build together programme
c) cross-subsidisation from a private developer to fund low-cost housing, land and services
d) enhance the capacity of national housing enterprise to provide end user home loan finance for low and middle-income groups
e) scale up financial mechanism, for urban poor to build a house incrementally as individual and groups
29. Townland expansion and compensation
a) unused land available in the local authorities should be considered for expropriation
b) develop a national urban policy and national special development framework
c) limit the expansion of local authority areas and focus on increasing densification
d) revision of current compensation policy every three years
30. Related matters
a) include the rights to housing as a human right in the constitution
b) government expenditure should be increased from the current level of 0.1% to at least 10% of GDP
31. Land taxation as an instrument for land reform
a) fully implement a progressive tax
b) introduce progressive specific rates for absentee landlords
c) update, finalise and regularly review the agro-ecological zone and carrying capacity maps
d.) introduce criteria for determining land tax exemption for the different categories of previously disadvantaged farmers
32. Agricultural land price
a) regulate agricultural land prices
33. Land valuation and pricing
a) fast-track the implementation of the property valuers professional act
34. Laws relating to immovable properties in Namibia
35. Real property Index
a) institutionalise the real property index
36. Expropriation of land without compensation (valuation approach for expropriation)
a) apply the reviewed bases for valuation that will enhance the compensation for land expropriated
b) review the communal land compensation policy guidelines and capacitate implementing agencies
37. Definition of ancestral land (economic, cultural & spiritual)
a) establish a presidential commission of inquiry on ancestral land to
i) commission a survey/ study to identify communities who have lost ancestral land
ii) establish the sizes of ancestral land lost and boundaries
iii) incorporate a special provision in the resettlement criteria to fairly address the situation of the most affected
iv) generate a common understanding/ consensus on the definition of ancestral land rights and restitution
v) study to determine the limit of the pre-independence ancestral claims
38. Ancestral land rights and claims
a) identify alternative corrective measures to restore social justice and ensure economic empowerment of the affected communities
b) use the reparations from the former colonial power to such purpose
c) provide the right of servitude in the legislation in addition to expropriation
d) ensure the participation of the previous disadvantaged on land matters
formulate legislation to vater for ancestral land claims and restitution
investigate possible unintended consequences of ancestral land claims and restitution as well as appropriate mitigation measures
e) the debate on ancestral land should be premised on the human rights principle and standards guaranteed in the Constitution as well as international and regional human rights instruments binding on Namibia
f) differentiate the various forms of ancestral land claims
g) develop land allocation mechanisms that prioritise the most affected communities
h) make use of the opportunity of ancestral land claims as an instrument to enhance national reconciliation
k) renaming of colonial names back to traditional original names where possible (where there are no controversies)
l) focus on the empowerment and special recognition of women from the most affected communities
m) include the affected communities in structures created to address the issue of ancestral land
n) investigate and identify interventions that are tailored to the specific circumstances of the affected communities
39. Voluntary repatriation of those in the diaspora
a) identify alternative land in communal and commercial areas for the resettlement of communities to be repatriated
40. Dignified burial of the remains of the genocide victims and veterans of the liberation struggle
a) erection of statues and monuments in remembrance of genocide victims and veterans of the liberations struggle
b) dignified burial of the remains of the genocide victims and veterans of the liberation struggle.