Govt to spend close to N$15 million on Land Conference

WINDHOEK, 20 SEP – Government intends to allocate at least N.dollars 15 million to host the second nation conference on land, preliminary information availed by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) shows.
In an interview with Nampa recently, Saima Shaanika, the OPM’s spokesperson, tentatively revealed the planned budget of the conference slated for 01 to 05 October this year.
“N.dollars 15 million is the amount that has been mentioned so far. There is no exact figure yet. This is just a preliminary figure and may change, depending on what the high-level committee decides as the final figure,” Shaanika said upon inquiry.
She indicated that the final figure of the budget for the conference will be announced on 27 September 2018, after the last of three high-level committee meetings for the event.
Headed by Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, the high level-committee is composed of ministers, permanent secretaries, academics, selected civil society groups and labour unions.
Around 500 delegates are expected to attend the conference which will review the progress made towards the implementation of the 24 resolutions taken at the 1991 land indaba and what more could be done to fast-track the implementation of those resolutions.
The willing-seller-willing-buyer principle, ancestral land claims for restitution and the expropriation of agricultural land in the public interest will also be discussed.
Urban land reform, the resettlement criteria and the removal of the Veterinary Cordon Fence will also feature at the conference. – NAMPA