Key land reform element in place

A key element in the Namibian government's land reform exercise, the valuation of commercial farmland, is nearing completion. The valuation of commercial farms is critical to the implementation of a new Land Tax, which is meant, in part, to fund the state's acquisition of agricultural land for the purpose of resettling thousands of "land-hungry" and previously disadvantaged Namibians. Valuer-general Dr Nashilongo Shivute told IRIN on Thursday that the provisional valuation roll, published on Wednesday, "provides information about farms in the country and the taxable value of each farm". "Ninety percent of what is in that roll [including the taxable value of land] has been verified with the owners as correct," she added. The taxable value is based on the land in its natural state and does not take into account improvements, such as dams. Farm owners have 21 days in which to make written submissions, should they object to any of the details listed on the valuation roll. Sixty days after publication of the provisional valuation roll, a final roll must be submitted to the Valuation Court, "which will sit and approve the roll to be sent to the ministry of finance [to use] to collect tax" from the landowners. While maintaining that the "tax is not punitive in nature", Shivute said it "is hoped that if somebody owns too much land, they will relinquish some of it due to the amount they will need to pay [in tax]". She explained that the Land Tax "is progressive, meaning it [the percentage of tax payable] increases with the number of farms owned by an individual or entity". This could result in individuals giving up some of their farms, "[because] they cannot afford to pay the tax". The rate of tax was determined by parliament and is based on the value listed in the final roll, Shivute said. "It's 0.75 percent [of the land value] for any single farm owned by an individual entity. For a second farm it increases to 1 percent, and increases by 0.25 percent for every additional farm thereafter," she explained. The process of valuing commercial farms began two years ago. "And it's important to mention that we worked with UNFAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organisation], which provided technical assistance, and UNDP [UN Development Programme] during the process," Shivute added. In 1991 the Namibian government and stakeholders from organised agriculture agreed on the need for land reform to correct the inequitable distribution of land under colonial and apartheid rule. A national conference on land reform agreed a number of criteria for identifying land that government could acquire for redistribution, including land belonging to foreigners and under-utilised farmland. Farmers with "excessive land" were also to offer some of their land to government on a willing-seller, willing-buyer basis. However, it was also decided that the state could resort to expropriation if not enough suitable land was offered to it for purchase. Earlier this year the government announced that, in accordance with the Commercial Farm Land Act and the constitution, it would go ahead with expropriation, as it had not been offered enough suitable land. The law makes provision for the payment of "just compensation" to owners of land expropriated "in the public interest". However, commercial farmers have been unsure of exactly how their farms are to be valued, should they be listed for expropriation, and how "just compensation" would be calculated. The Namibian Agricultural Union (NAU) has forwarded a document outlining its concerns to the government. NAU president Jan De Wet had earlier told IRIN that he was certain agreement could be reached with government over the issues raised by his union.