Namibia: Farmers Told to Remove Illegal Fences

TWENTY-SEVEN farmers in northern Namibia, found to have illegally fenced off large tracts of land in communal areas, have been issued with legal notices to remove their fences before the end of next month or face the wrath of the law.

On a visit to the North at the end of last year, Deputy Minister of Lands and Resettlement Theo Diergaardt told traditional authorities and communal land boards of the Omusati, Ohangwena, and Kavango regions that all illegal fences, especially those erected after March 2003, must be removed within the next few months.

The Ministry of Lands and Resettlement's chief development planner in the Ohangwena Region, Paulus Amaambo, told The Namibian that 17 farmers in the region had received legal notices to remove illegal fences before the end of next month.

A source at the Kavango communal land board also told The Namibian yesterday that five farmers in that region had been served with legal notices to take down their fences before the end of February.

In the Omusati Region, five farmers have been served with the same notices.

Amaambo said the farmers could appeal the notices in court, which many farmers reportedly have already done.

"This might delay the removal process as legal aspects thus have to be followed. Because if the courts still find them guilty, they [farmers] will still have the right to appeal to a higher court and even to the Supreme Court," Amaambo said.

In July last year Cabinet directed the Ministry of Lands to reinforce measures against those fencing off communal areas.

Diergaardt said the removal of illegal fences was in any case one of the major activities of the ministry.

In December last year it was decided that charges would be laid with the police if the courts rule against offenders.

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Namibia: Farmers Told to Remove Illegal Fences