Trade union leader proposes Zim-type land grab

A Namibian trade union leader has advised landless Namibians to grab land in the same way as was happening in Zimbabwe, news reports said on Monday. Risto Kapenda, president of the SWAPO-affiliated union, the Namibian Public Workers’ Union, was quoted as saying that the government policy of willing buyer-willing seller was not in line with the wishes of the majority. He said that trade unions and various SWAPO wings had spoken out against the policy, and government leaders who defended it were not speaking on behalf of the people. “If I should advise the nation on what to do, (I would say) just grab the land like in Zimbabwe,” Kapenda was quoted as saying. The cabinet announced last week that it had budgeted US $12.4 million for land resettlement over the next five years.