IRIN Focus on land rights in southern Angola

The proliferation of ranches and commercial farms in southwest Angola is threatening the livelihoods of myriad communities which say their traditions and customs passed down over centuries are now under threat. Thousands of hectares of land, once solely the territory of pastoral people and their cattle, have become the fenced-in, private property of wealthy new landowners including government officials. Pastoral leaders say the land has been taken illegally. They are concerned that if their rights are not defended in law, their culture will soon disappear. “These new people come to do intensive cattle farming and put their own interests first, threatening our customs. They abuse the law and take away our rights. Nobody consults us, but we are the people of the land where we have our animals which are our only fortune,” explains 56-year-old Nicolau Wonga, from the Gambos community, 120 km south of Lubango, the capital of southern Huila province. “When we are forced to live without land, we live without life.” Local chiefs, church leaders, lawyers, representatives from national associations plus a sprinkling of opposition politicians came together last week for a controversial three-day conference in Lubango. The focus of discussion was the issue of land-rights in Namibe, Huila and Cunene provinces in southern Angola. A local priest, Domingos Mauricio, told participants that new landowners even used violence to thwart the local people from pursuing their traditions. “The symptoms of this reality are already visible in various parts of the country,” said Father Domingos. “To cite a few: the unjust subordination of the small-scale cattle sector, the violence and complicity which is often carried out by powerful public representatives, the illiteracy of local communities which creates difficulties in their knowledge of their legal rights to property and the continuing and systematic exclusion of the people in the process to find a solution for these problems.” Senior church members and lawyers who attended the conference emphasised the importance of the legal factor in the land issue. They argued that the national constitution, currently under revision, should defend the rights of so-called “traditional communities”. David Mendes, a lawyer and also president of the Association of Free Hands, said the current “land law regulates the use of rural land. It sanctifies that the areas inhabited or used by the population for cultivation and for their livelihood must not be used by third parties”. In theory, this should therefore protect the pastoral communities in southwest Angola. But, added Mendes: “Unfortunately in Angola, we have a habit of not applying laws.” “Even in colonial times, the ancestral land of the people was respected by the Portuguese,” Mendes told IRIN. “Since 1975, the sobas have lost their power. They have been politicised and many have become part of the political system of the MPLA (ruling party) and thus no longer make decisions on behalf of their people.” Senior government members are among the new landowners. The Minister of Territorial Administration, Faustino Muteka, owns two ranches and is a close friend of one of Angola’s largest private landowners, Fernando Bourges. Bourges’ ranch in Tchimbolelo, about 100 km south of Lubango, covers 27,000 hectares and strictly forbids the transit of locals. Another new landowner is Gilberto Lutukuta, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Last week, he chose to attend a conference on oil and gas rather than go to Lubango’s land meeting. In his opinion, the land issue could be resolved by bringing ancient cultures up to date. “We respect our national culture without a doubt,” said Lutukuta. “But those who have had a pastoral life with cattle don’t have to have the same life now. We can improve those traditions that are not at the socio-economic level we are seeking for our people.” The minister said that it was unnecessary for him to attend the meeting because the issue of land was already being discussed at the executive and legislative levels where “our actions are more coordinated”. This approach has not won him any support in Lubango. Archbishop Zacarias Kamuenho believes that even if one accepts the need for traditions to change, the process must involve the people. “You can tell the minister that the Archbishop of Lubango says that if he doesn’t involve the people in the whole process, everything that he is doing will be purely cosmetic,” the church leader told IRIN. “If the people aren’t involved in the process to get water, the process to pass across the land, everything will be like it was 500 years ago. In the colonial era, that is what we witnessed. “Today,” the Archbishop went on, “our leaders just stay there, relaxed, in Luanda.” This latter criticism lies at the heart of the matter. On countless occasions during last week’s conference, traditional leaders complained about their exclusion from the constitutional reform process currently taking place in Luanda. Many local people stated their belief that if the government is supposed to represent the people, its members should go to listen to the people. Many observers, are nevertheless, pessimistic that the relationship between the government and rural communities will change. Fernando Pacheco, who heads the national organisation, ADRA, and an expert on rural issues, said it was “the phenomenon of petroleum… that has caused rural populations to be abandoned to luck”.