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Namibia seeks to avert Zimbabwe bloodbath |
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Namibia has opted for a land value tax to avoid descending into the chaos and civil unrest Zimbabwe is experiencing as a result of disputed land rights.
Implementation of the tax was due to begin on 1 April. The aim is to seek to redistribute farmland to 243,000 currently landless people.
Rather than forcing white landowners off their lands, the Nambian government is planning to buy 9.5 million hectares of land from white farmers, while heavily tax those who own large tracts to encourage them to sell. The state could also repossess under-utilised commercial land.
There are over 4,000 white farmers owning nearly 30.5 million hectares of Namibia. A further 2.2 million hectares are owned by an estimated 200 black commercial farmers.
Namibia's president Sam Shafishuna Nujoma said: "Starting this year increased efforts will be made to resettle our landless people in a speedy manner. I also call on those who own excess land to co-operate with the Government in its efforts to address and resolve the present imbalances in land redistribution."
Through land tax the Government hopes to enhance the release of under-utilised land for this redistribution.
Revenue from the tax will be used to finance the land reallocation as well as development projects and community programmes.
The predominantly white Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and the Government have formed a committee to thrash out how excess land will be determined.
NAU spokesperson, Oliver Horsthemke, said that farmers wanted the land tax to be implemented in a fair and cost-effective manner. He added that the land tax should not hamper production and in times of disaster, such as drought, producers should be exempted from paying tax so that they can recover. Farmers have not paid tax on their land since Namibia's independence from South Africa in 1990.
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