SADC ministers begin meeting on land crisis

Ministers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) began a three-day meeting in Windhoek on Monday to try and find a solution to land reform problems within southern Africa, reports said.

The meeting is the first consultative conference on land and follows a decision at a SADC heads of state meeting in Malawi last month where leaders pledged to address the land problem collectively. Namibian Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Hifikepunye Pohamba told reporters: "This meeting is the first of its kind in SADC to deliberate specifically issues on land, something which all humans depend for their livelihood."

It was opened by Namibian President Sam Nujoma who told delegates the redistribution of land had been one of the main aims of African countries' liberation struggles. "The struggle to gain political freedom and independence was characterised by the resolve of our people to liberate themselves and to determine their own future destiny," he said. "Our aims and objectives were to take full control of our national resources and means of production. Among these resources, land is the key to social and economic development."