Chinese firm eyes Namibian land to grow tobacco

A plan by the Namibian government to lease 10,000 ha of land to a Chinese company to grow tobacco has run into opposition, according to a story by Tuyeimo Haidula for The Namibian.

Namibia Oriental Tobacco, which has Ng Yung listed as its only director, plans to use the land to grow tobacco and maize.

Last week, the Ministry of Land and Resettlement ran a public notice announcing the names of the seven applicants who had applied to receive leaseholds for various activities, and the Zambezi Communal Land Board asked that objections be lodged within seven days.

The suspended Swapo youth leader Job Amupanda issued a statement saying he, together with two other youth leaders, George Kambala and Dimbulukeni Nauyoma, would make a submission to government objecting to the awarding of the land to the Chinese.

Amupanda, Kambala and Nauyoma started the Affirmative Repositioning movement which seeks to help address the country’s land issue. The three formed the group last year, saying they wanted to build their own houses because they were tired of paying high rents.

Amongst the five listed objections, Amupanda said it could not be correct that “our most fertile land is used to produce drugs and not food”.

He said it was alarming that the government was distributing land to foreigners even in villages. Although the government spoke about banning foreign ownership, “politicians are awarding land to foreigners under the table,” he added.

“We take this principled action on realizing that our country is speedily and scandalously being sold while the future generation is tricked into singing songs and clapping hands, waiting for a fictional year called ‘2030’ where all our problems will apparently be solved; probably by ghosts only known to the political elite,” he said.