Cabinet approves revised resettlement policy

The government has approved the revised national resettlement policy for 2013 to 2033 for implementation.

This was announced by government spokesperson Peya Mushelenga last week while announcing Cabinet decisions.

Mushelenga said this comes after the minister of agriculture, water and land reform, Calle Schlettwein, submitted the policy to the Cabinet.

The grouping of beneficiaries into three main target groups of commercial farmers on leased land in commercial or communal areas has been approved, among others.

Other categories include communal farmers and non-farming individuals.

The Cabinet has also approved the introduction of three resettlement models deemed to be socially, economically and politically appropriate.

“ . . . an option for freehold rights to be granted to successful beneficiaries upon meeting the conditions of their lease agreement to ensure the security of tenure for resettlement farmers,” Mushelenga said.

Other decisions approved by the Cabinet include inviting Tanzania to the first session of political and diplomatic consultation by February next year.

The Cabinet instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security to nominate members to serve on the Namibia-Tanzania joint permanent committee.

The ministry is instructed to expedite the implementation of the agreement on cooperation on security matters and to complete the negotiations of the agreement.

The Ministry of Industrialisation and Traded was instructed to provide Tanzania with feedback on the draft of the agreement on trade and economic cooperation by the end of August.

It was decided that the ministry finalises and signs the draft of the agreement on the promotion of micro, small and medium enterprise development by 31 July.

Mushelenga said the Cabinet decided that the Namibian Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) should review the agreement between itself and the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC).

This, he said, will enhance the exchange of information on investment opportunities and joint promotion activities and finalise internal processes by 31 August.

The Cabinet said the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism should submit the names of the joint tourism technical committee members by 31 May.

The same ministry has been instructed to provide feedback on the draft terms of reference and implementation plan by 31 August, and consequently convene a joint tourism technical committee meeting by 30 September.

The Ministry of Works and Transport has been instructed to speed up the implementation of the bilateral air service agreement and report progress in the next midterm review meeting.

The Cabinet said the transport ministry should send a formal request to Tanzania for the commencement of flight operations by 31 December.

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