Anna Shilongo
16 April 2008
Windhoek — Four families were left stranded last week Monday after Government evicted them from a farm they allegedly occupied illegally at Maltahöhe.
The four families comprising of 12 people had lived on Reviiera Farm since 2006. Government bought the farm for resettlement but it was never allotted to anyone.
It was not the first time that the families were evicted. Before moving onto the government farm, they were evicted from the village's camps where they kept animals.
The village council apparently evicted the Swartbooi family after they couldn't settle their bill of N$17 000 which they accumulated over years.
Most of the evictees are unemployed. Only two of them have a regular income as pensioners who each draw N$370 (N$450 now) per month.
The group moved onto the unoccupied farm in 2006. Before they moved in, they reportedly informed all the relevant authorities that they had moved onto the government farm albeit illegally.
They claim that they wrote a letter to the constituency councillor, the office of the president as well as the office of the regional governor to inform them about their stay, but there was no response.
To their shock, they received a letter from the messenger of court stating that they should immediately vacate the premises.
They say they were not given enough time to look for a place on which to resettle as the court notice apparently requested them to vacate the farm with immediate effect.
Currently, the four families live along the gravel road between Kalkrand and Maltahöhe with their livestock, where they have constructed a little shack.
They are without food, water, shelter, or land to graze.
Leena Swartbooi is one of the evicted families. She expressed concern about their current situation, calling on good Samaritans to help them.
"We have no other income - we dependent on farming and our two pensioners. None of us are working and our livestock which is our source of income are rooming around the corridors. We need help."
Swartbooi is appealing to the Government to resettle the four families on one of the farms.
"We are homeless, we have no place to call home, all our plans and future are dashed," she said.
The four families have 300 goats, 50 cattle, 50 sheep, seven donkeys, and seven horses.
They expressed concern about their children's education. They apparently left their children with friends and neighbours to continue with school.
Three families who were recently resettled by Government currently occupy farm Reviiera, said Swartbooi.
"When we heard about this, we lost hope. We knew that there was no turning back, so we decided to apply for another government farm in Mariental but they said it was too early because the farm is not yet advertised," she said.
Approached for comment, Councillor of Gibeon constituency Karl Kisting confirmed that the four families moved onto the government farm illegally.
But despite moving in illegally, they informed all the relevant authorities about their situation, said Kisting.
After they informed his office, he said he advised the families to apply for resettlement on that farm when it was advertised, which they did.
"These people are in the corridors and their livestock can cause accidents. As we talk they are now homeless wondering around, and this is not a good picture," said the councillor.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Era. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
