In the 1890s the German Rhodes Company's representative Ludritz purchased 260 km of Namibia costal land from the Nama Captain, Joseph Fredric, and from the Herero Chief Kamaharero through tricky and dishonest agreements.
By 1903 those Germans had obtained formal ownership of 336 000 square km of land, including a vast area of fertile farming land in South West Africa that is currently known as the Republic of Namibia. They grabbed that land by juggling with the prices of goods they traded in exchange for a half German Mark per hectare!
Coincidently, in the 19th century, the British East India Trading Company, using their imperial power and authority, grabbed thousands of hectares of fertile land in Sri Lanka, at the rate of 100 hectares for 1 US dollar and traditional villagers were forced to leave or sell their lands inherited from their ancestors. The late Prime Minister, Madame Sirimao Bandara-nayke, used the "Land Reform Bill" of 1970 to re-guarantee the land rights of the sons and daughters of soil. Under this bill, no one is allowed to own or keep more than 110 hectares and they should hand over the rest to the state, and get compensation according to assessed value.
The issue of land in Namibia has notably surfaced as a result of growing poverty, especially in the rural and informal settlement areas in townships. Around 70 percent of the population in Namibia live in the rural areas and agriculture backed by livestock farming is the major economic activity. About five percent of Namibians obtain income through subsistence farming which accounts for three percent of the GDP. Commercial agriculture accounts for nine percent of the GDP and employs around 36 000 workers. By placing Namibia in the "medium development country" group in the UN Human Development Report 2003, it (the report) hides a prominent disparity in national income distribution, where around 60 percent of the population survives on less than 1 US dollar a day.
Moreover, the current rate of unemployment is around 45 percent.
The Namibian agriculture can be divided into two main sectors, namely communal and commercial. These two sectors have originated from the colonial expropriation of the land from indigenous communities such as the Nama, Damara and Herero. The extent of Namibian commercial land is approximately 36 million hectares and communal lands cover 34 million hectares that support 140 000, or 95 percent of the farming population or 70 percent of the total population of Namibia.
The apartheid policy of 1977 totally prohibited black Namibians from purchasing land. To enhance the livelihood and health of the majority and lay a jumping-pad to the Vision 2030, landless rural poor ought to have their lost land back.
The key economic activity of many developing nations is still agriculture and family centered small-scale farming that plays a crucial role in their survival. Due to the population growth, redistribution of the limited agricultural land among kith and kin from generation to generation, and lack of capital, those subsistence farmers, over time were reduced to extreme poverty.
As a result of these adverse developments, poor families, especially youths are forced to migrate to urban centers such as Windhoek, Rundu, Ondangwa and Walvis Bay for greener pastures. Finally, they secure shelters in over-crowded slums and ghettoes, where poor standards of health, sanitation and social morality push them into a more vulnerable situation. Finally, the poverty and hunger brings malnutrition and HIV/AIDS to their lives.
The first four cases of HIV infections were identified in 1986 and in 1998 the figure has risen to 12 701. Namibia has been ranked one of the fifth most HIV infected countries in the world, with around 230 000 Namibians living with the virus. Moreover, nearly 23 000 persons have reached the stage of AIDS. With a statistical model using the national prevalence figure of 22.3, it is forecasted that the epidemic has climbed to the second stage in Namibia and it would level off at 24 percent in this year. Also, according to the moderate estimation, one in four Namibians aged 15 to 49 are infected with HIV and will probably die within the next seven years.
According to the Impact Assessment Study of HIV/AIDS on the municipalities of Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Oshakati and Ongwediva, nearly 180 000 persons will die of AIDS related complications by 2021. This study underlines the magnitude of the HIV prevalence in the private and public sector workforces in the key municipalities of Namibia, as well as the sustainability and growth of the private businesses are depended on their health and wellness. The report says that 45 000 citizens in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, are HIV infected and the figure will be expected to rise to 61 000 in 2012 and just over 80 000 in 2021. As a result of the migration-wave of landless and cashless poor, The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the Windhoek municipal area has increased to 40 percent.
The heaviest burden of the epidemic will fall on women who have been infected at a young age and it accounts for 56 percent of reported new HIV infections.
According to a recent finding, Namibia has risen into the second phase of the epidemic where the prevalence rate will level off at 24 percent within this year.
In order to alleviate the poverty and living standards of economically underprivileged poor, the government of Namibia has devised the Vision 2030 as its human development road map. As the above-mentioned facts testify, as of today, 45 percent of the population is living on less the 1 US dollar and around 23 percent of the inhabitants are infected with HIV/AIDS. The aforesaid economic and health parameters lead us to understand the interdependence between poverty and HIV.
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It is widely believed that food insecurity and malnutrition caused by poverty are strongly related to HIV/AIDS. For instance, any immune impairment as a result of HIV leads to malnutrition and malnutrition again leads to immune impairment. This is an unavoidable vicious cycle that needs constant attention.
To achieve the objectives of the land reform programme, it is wise to make available basic social infrastructure such as water supply and sanitation, electricity, communication, health education and religious centres at the very beginning. The international donor community, NGOs, FBOs, the corporate sector, philanthropists can assist the government in this regard. In addition, it is imperative to organize innovative training programmes in agriculture, animal husbandry, micro-financing and community development.
It is extremely important to mainstream HIV/AIDS management affairs throughout the land reform and land development programme. Economically strengthened and knowledgeable new land recipients will contribute to the prevention of the spread of HIV and care for those who live with HIV and AIDS.
