//Kharas regional consultative workshop on land conference underway

KEETMANSHOOP, 20 JUL  – //Kharas Region Governor, Lucia Basson urged the inhabitants of her region to come up with new concrete resolutions that will inform the land reform policies currently in place.
Basson was speaking on Thursday at the official opening of the //Kharas regional consultative workshop in Keetmanshoop, held in preparation of the second national land conference slated for October 2018. The workshop is attended by over 150 people from the region and will conclude on Friday.
It aims to review inputs made during the 2017 consultations on land and to provide a platform for key stakeholders that did not get the opportunity yet, to make their official contributions.
“Let us not repeat what we said during our consultative meeting last year, what we said last year is there, bring new recommendations. I urge you to be open and listen to each other and most importantly, come out of these discussions with concrete resolutions that will inform our current land reform,” Basson said.
The governor said the Namibian government decided to hold the regional consultations again this year because in 2017, the consultations were emphasising on reviewing the 24 resolutions of the 1991 land conference. She said during this second consultation, the focus is on getting stakeholders to identify key land issues affecting land administration in their different regions and coming up with a regional position for presentation at the second national conference.
“Some sections of Namibian society felt they were left out in the first consultations, hence the second round of consultations for inclusivity,” Basson added.
She also urged those present at the meeting to discuss issues or resolutions that will make an impact on the //Kharas Region as land issues differ from region to region.
“The people in the northern part want the Veterinary Cordon Fence (Red Line) removed; that is not what we are fighting for in the south, let us be specific of what we want here,” Basson said.
(NAMPA)