Allexer Namundjembo
With the High Court expected to deliver its judgement today on the legal challenge against the veterinary cordon fence (VCF), also known as the Red Line, the 7th Parliamentary Committee on Economics and Public Administration has recommended that citizens should not be barred from moving their animals across the fence.
The recommendation is part of a report presented to the National Assembly by committee chairperson Natangwe Ithete this week.
It calls on the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant stakeholders to develop a policy framework and amend current legislation to allow livestock farmers in the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) to access markets south of the Red Line.
The report, tabled on 4 March, was in response to a petition by Lisha Empowerment titled “Namibia’s National Assembly addresses the urgent need for reviving the market for livestock in Namibia’s northern communal farmers (NCAs).”
As part of its work, the committee held public consultations and oversight visits in Kunene, Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena, Zambezi, and the two Kavango regions.
“Livestock farming in the Northern Communal Areas is of national importance and a matter of public interest. It plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and contributes significantly to the country’s agricultural industries,” the report reads.
According to the committee, the NCAs are home to around 2.5 million cattle, yet market access remains restricted due to the VCF.
It also found that quarantine farms, abattoirs, and auction pens have limited market accessibility for communal farmers.
“On the VCF, farmers criticised the policy and the act regulating the use of the VCF, stating that it needed to be reviewed as it was designed to favour the minority group at the expense of the majority of Namibians in the name of foot-and-mouth disease,” the report reads.
The committee recommended that the VCF be used strictly for disease control purposes and not to prohibit citizens from moving livestock or other products across it.
Former PDM parliamentarian Maximilian Katjimune, however, said there is a misconception about the report’s impact on the court judgement.
“Unlike the bill, which has legal effect once it becomes law, recommendations from a parliamentary report have no legal effect and are not binding,” Katjimune said.
He added that the report’s recommendations will not influence the court’s decision.
Job Amupanda, leader of the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement, who filed the court case challenging the VCF’s constitutionality, welcomed the report.
“In terms of the rules, when this happens, the ministry must act within three months,” he said.
Amupanda has filed a lawsuit seeking the immediate removal of the VCF, arguing that its existence is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
The government, however, maintains that the fence is legal under the Animal Health Act of 2011 and is necessary for controlling animal diseases.
The High Court is expected to rule on whether the VCF should be removed or maintained.
