Swapo MPs block debate on land

OVER 50 Swapo lawmakers shot down a proposed debate on the issue of ancestral land and a demand for the list of all beneficiaries under the government's resettlement farms' programme.

The ruling party stopped Swanu member of parliament Usutuaije Maamberua from tabling the motion in the National Assembly for lawmakers to discuss the allocation of land under the government's resettlement programme meant for previously disadvantaged Namibians. Maamberua's proposal also raised concerns about bribery, fraud and corruption in the allocation of state land. However, land reform minister Utoni Nujoma suggested during the parliamentary session on Tuesday that Maamberua should not be allowed to table his motion. Nujoma said concerns by Maamberua are addressed in the proposed land bill which was withdrawn from the National Assembly. The minister claimed that the proposals in the motion included asking a parliamentary committee to consult people in the regions, a process he said had already been done by his ministry.