Brushing off fears of Zimbabwe-style farm invasions, President Sam Nujoma assured Namibians on Wednesday that the government’s land expropriation program would be conducted in a legal manner.
”Any concerns about land reform should be laid to rest,” Nujoma said in his last state of the nation address before retiring.
Most of the productive land in this southern African country remains in the hands of whites who make up less than five percent of the 1,8-million population.
The government is in the process of identifying a select number of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to landless blacks. The plan, combined with union threats to invade some farms, has raised fears of the kind of violent land seizures that have plunged neighbouring Zimbabwe into political and economic turmoil.
Nujoma’s government insists the owners of expropriated farms will be compensated and the country’s constitution respected.
Relations between Nujoma and Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe remain close, despite the neighboring country’s increasing international isolation.
Nujoma took the opportunity Wednesday to thank Zimbabwe for supplying two helicopters to help evacuate more than 3 000 people caught in recent flooding. ”Zimbabwe saved us,” he said.
Nujoma, who has led Namibia since independence from South Africa in 1990, said this would be his last presidential address to Parliament.
The ruling Swapo party meets next month to decide who will represent it in November elections.
Turning to the challenges facing the impoverished country, Nujoma said Aids remains a ”clear and present danger”.
He thanked the United States and the UN-administered Global Fund to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria for supporting programmes he hopes will cut HIV prevalence from more than 28% to 17% by 2009.
The government recently started providing free anti-retroviral treatment to Aids sufferers at state hospitals across the country. – Sapa-AP