[allAfrica.com] [celtel.com] Pohamba Slams Land Dispute New Era (Windhoek) NEWS November 23, 2005 Posted to the web November 23, 2005 By Surihe Gaomas Windhoek THE communal land dispute in the Kavango Region was at the top of the agenda at the beginning of the eighth Annual Conference of the Council of Traditional Leaders in Windhoek yesterday. The land dispute pits the Kwangali tribe against illegal land invaders from the Oukwanyama and Ondonga tribes from northern Namibia. "The current confrontational stance between cattle owners and Traditional Authorities in the Kavango Region is not only undesirable, it is also untenable," said President Hifikepunye Po-hamba when he opened the meeting. The dispute in the Kavango Region has become worrisome for the Government as well as traditional leaders and the country in general. Addressing over 80 traditional leaders and senior councillors at the start of the five-day conference the President reinforced Government's commitment to finding an amicable and lasting solution to the communal land problem. Concern has been that this situation has the potential of disturbing the country's hard- won independence, peace and stability. "It is also totally unacceptable for some of our citizens to ignore the law and settle in areas which fall under the jurisdiction of our Traditional Authorities without following proper procedures," he said. "This sort of behaviour has an effect of destabilising our country and must be avoided at all cost," added the ruling Swapo Party politician. In view of the current situation, the Head of State called on all those involved in the communal land dispute to "exercise restraint and to avoid making remarks that have the potential to make the situation explosive and volatile". Last month Government ordered all illegal settlers to immediately vacate the land they illegally occupy and gave them until October 29, 2005 to move or face the full wrath of the law. However, despite this directive most of the settlers have not moved an inch and continue to graze their cattle in the Kwangali areas. This has prompted the Kwangali Traditional Authority to write a letter to Government requesting eviction orders against the hundreds of settlers from the Ondonga and Kwanyama tribes who illegally occupy communal land under their jurisdiction. In view of the latest developments and other related concerns traditional leaders will advise and inform the Head of State about the control and use of communal land and other matters related to traditional issues, such as conflict management and resolutions among various traditional communities in the country. It is at conferences like this that traditional leaders can discuss issues that affect their respective communities and find amicable solutions to burning problems. Since traditional leadership is regarded as the backbone of rural development, chiefs and councillors in this area were advised by the Head of State to become more involved in reform processes in order to promote unity. "Our traditional leaders should continue to lead by example and thereby consolidate their legitimacy and relevance in the communities that they serve. It is important that they should urge their respective communities to avoid and discourage tribal disputes in order to maintain national unity, peace and tranquillity in our country," explained President Pohamba. In light of the fact that over 70 percent of the country's poor live in rural areas, it is imperative that traditional authorities and local government are seen to be the two main engines of rural development. Speaking at the same occasion, Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development John Pandeni said traditional leaders therefore need to develop an operational plan for their respective communities, since communities continuously demand better and efficient service delivery from their local authority leaders. Yet despite budgetary constraints, Minister Pandeni urged them to make use of what resources are available to them. "Traditional authorities need to develop an understanding and learn how to make use of the limited and scare resources sparingly and economically in order to maximise the benefits in redistributing those resources to the greater sections of our society," said the minister. Among the wide ranging topics to be discussed during the next four days at the ongoing conference are cooperation between traditional leaders and regional councillors in their respective regions, their Code of Conduct, education with special focus on Grade 10 failures, the plight of the San community, the possibility of legalising customary marriages, as well as the credibility of evidence given by traditional leaders in the community courts. Furthermore, the focus will also be on the delays in the issuing of national documents such as birth certificates, identification documents and passports, as well as the improvement on the conditions of service of traditional leaders to mention but a few.   ===============================================================================  Copyright © 2005 New Era. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ===============================================================================