Allexer Namundjembo
Former President Nangolo Mbumba issued a proclamation to incorporate portions of unalienated state land into existing communal areas before leaving office.
The decision, made under the powers granted by the Communal Land Reform Act of 2002 and approved by the National Assembly, aims to expand communal land areas in various regions.
The proclamation was published in Government Gazette No. 8602 on 9 March 2025. It includes land allocations to communities such as Otjimbingwe, Ovitoto, and Aminuis.
Otjimbingwe communal land will now include the remaining extent of Portion A of Farm Okongava, covering 15 160 hectares. Ovitoto communal land will be expanded by 5 374 hectares from Farm Osema and 3 754 hectares from Farm Gusinde, both in the Okahandja district.
A further 6 768 hectares from Farm Alpha in the Aminuis district will be added to the Aminuis communal land.
The updates are reflected in an amended Schedule 1 of the Communal Land Reform Act, which now includes revised descriptions of communal areas in Damaraland, Hereroland West, and Hereroland East.
The proclamation, signed on 4 March 2025, forms part of the government’s broader effort to address land distribution and ensure access to land for farming, cultural practices, and local development.
Land activist, Shaun Gariseb, said the move to expand communal land aligns with resolutions from the last land conference.
He welcomed the effort but raised concern about the exclusion of some communities, particularly the ||Khomani, who he said continue to lack adequate land.
“The only thing I’m wondering about is how priority is placed. The ||Khomani have zero communal land gazetted and aren’t enjoying the priority they are supposed to get, compared to other communities who sit on 1 million hectares of land. Like Epukiro, ||Khomani just have a laughable 8 000 hectares handed over a few months ago. That land is even poorer with no water capacity, but there’s so much land with absent landlords in the ancestral jurisdiction of the ||Khomani people,” Gariseb said.
He called the move a positive start but said the government must also address the concerns of other communities and speed up work on the land bill.
“It’s important we start implementing the resolutions taken at the second land conference, and the land bill speaks to that,” he said.
