Government yet to implement expropriation policy

The Namibian government said on Monday that it was still to implement its land expropriation policy. "The expropriation policy is still an intention at this stage and has yet to be effected," Chrispin Matongela, a spokesman for the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, told IRIN. Frans Tsheehama, the permanent secretary in the ministry, explained the process of expropriation to the media: "First a notice will be issued in the Government Gazette, then advertisements on the farms to be expropriated will be placed in the local newspapers." Namibian media reported on Friday that the government was to expropriate eight farms belonging to white farmers, but Matongela said "We are unaware of these farms." Prime Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab announced the introduction of the expropriation policy last week, to run concurrently with the existing "willing-buyer, willing-seller" approach. The government is expected to provide more details on the expropriation process in parliament on Tuesday.