Ester Mbathera
Outspoken thought leader, Joshua Maponga has urged Swapo leaders to take immediate action on land reform, calling for a strategic approach to reclaim land from white ownership.
Maponga to Swapo members during the public discussion of the party’s manifesto on Monday in Windhoek.
“Swapo, hear me well. Stop acting like an opposition party. You are a ruling party; you are not an opposition party. Set the agenda items loud and clear and let the rest of the nation follow your agenda,” he said.
He criticises the party for what he perceives as a lack of urgency in addressing the land issue, stating that strategies must go beyond the manifesto.
“Beautiful strategies that are not implemented will rot on the shelf,” he added.
He also criticised the current land distribution system, arguing that 70% of the country’s land is still in white hands.
Maponga told the Swapo gathering that land reform in Namibia must be a priority, urging the ruling party to take decisive action.
“What I’m challenging Swapo to do is stop correcting full stops and commas, look for your hands and implement what you have said you’re going to implement,” he said.
He urged Namibia to adopt a more measured approach to land reform by focusing on the development of agricultural skills among the youth before taking further steps toward land redistribution.
He emphasised that simply reclaiming land without adequately preparing the next generation to manage it would repeat mistakes seen in other countries. “Start a vigorous agricultural training programme for your youth. Stop talking about land. Stop. Just stop,” Maponga said.
According to Maponga, this strategy would enable future generations to fully utilise the land once it is transferred. “Five years from now, ten years from now, your first graduates, you can begin to approach critical farmers and purchase those farms,” he said.
Maponga also raised concerns about the continued existence of the Redline, which restricts the movement of goods between certain regions in the country.
He questioned why, decades after independence, the country still has boundaries that limit economic activity within its own borders.
“Even as we speak today, we still have the red line zones in Namibia where goods cannot move freely in a country, in a country we call a country. But you cannot cross over with avocados and beef. You cannot cross this line and you sit back and say. Who drew this line? A bunch of Boers and German guys who said, ‘no’, if you allow goods from the north to come down here, then the businesses of the south will die,” he questioned.
Maponga urged the government to prioritise addressing the issue of the red line.
According to him, removing these barriers would promote equality and allow all regions of Namibia to contribute to and benefit from the national economy.
“We talk about manifestos, we talk about policy change, and yet the devil in the room still looks at us,” he said.
The Windhoek Observer has learnt that Maponga met the activists of the AR Movement in Katima Mulilo the day the party launched its manifesto.
Many took to social media, lauding him for what they described as the truth.
“Agree to disagree, maintaining colonial era systems and policies like the northern Veterinary Cordon Fence also known as the notorious redline and others is counter-productive. Protecting certain segments of society over the other is a gross discrimination by the government similar to the apartheid system. Redline must fall! “ – Homateni Shikongo.
“But who invited this Tate? I see regrets from all here. He just tells them the truth and I know they didn’t see it coming,” – Tuhafine Kushly Nanhapo
