By Stefanus Nashama and Kaundjire Humbu
Political analysts say there is nothing wrong with President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah applying for land in Auasblick, provided the law allows her to do so.
This follows Nandi-Ndaitwah’s application last month to purchase municipal land in the Auasblick area of Windhoek, after a naked man was found inside State House.
Her application has since sparked criticism and mixed reactions over why it was allegedly treated differently and not made available to the public.
Speaking to Confidente recently, political analyst Sakaria Johannes said the president should not be targeted simply because she applied for land.
“We will not say the president applied for land, we will say a Namibian applied for land,” Johannes said.
He said there was no policy prohibiting the president from acquiring land.
“If President Nandi-Ndaitwah follows the right channel, she should be given land.”
Johannes said there are people who own large portions of land without facing similar scrutiny.
“Why attack the president? Are we trying to restrict her from buying the land? She is a human being too, entitled to owning land,” he said.
He further argued that whether the president is granted the land or not would not resolve Namibia’s wider land crisis.
“I do not know why people are questioning the president’s application. The issue should be a legal question if she applied for it legally,” he said.
Johannes said the president is expected to live at State House, but if she feels unsafe there, she should be able to stay where her safety is
not under threat.
“Even those that are saying the president should be at State House, if it were them, they couldn’t stay there if their safety is compromised.”
Public policy analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah also said it is a democratic right for every citizen to apply for and own land in Namibia.
“She is allowed to apply for land,” he said.
Kamwanyah, however, stressed that Nandi-Ndaitwah’s position should not influence the process of acquiring the land.
“It is very significant that she ensures that her position of power does not influence the process of her attaining land. Her position must not make the people dealing with the land application process imbalanced, as she is the first citizen.”
Kamwanyah said Auasblick is an expensive area and therefore the application would not address Namibia’s land crisis, particularly because many people affected by the housing crisis live in informal settlements.
“Such people will not be able to afford land in that area. So the president applying for or buying land in that area will not solve the issue of the land crisis,” he said.
According to Kamwanyah, the existence of State House means the state should use public funds to upgrade and maintain the official residence rather than relying on private property.
“So if the president is going to utilise state finance on private property, it is acceptable. The issue of safety is not the major reason why the president must buy land. The president’s safety will still be compromised either at State House or on private land. If it is safe, then the state must institute appropriate safety mechanisms,” he said.
SWAPO Party Youth League secretary Ephraim Nekongo also defended the president’s application, saying there was nothing wrong with her applying for land.
“Nandi-Ndaitwah is a Namibian just like any other Namibian who can apply for land for as long as she can afford to buy it. She doesn’t apply behind closed doors,” Nekongo said.
He said whether the application is approved or rejected would not resolve the broader land question.
Nekongo said the matter should not be politicised.
“Why are we politicising it now? It is like you are saying the president should not go to the shop and buy items.”
He added that if the municipality approved the president’s application, she should be allowed to acquire the land.
Nekongo also defended the president’s decision to leave State House following the security breach.
“If the president’s security is compromised, she cannot stay at State House. I can defend my president, she did nothing wrong,”
he said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah is not the first Namibian president not to reside at State House.
The late President Hage Geingob also lived elsewhere at certain periods.
According to leaked documents from the City of Windhoek, Nandi-Ndaitwah’s application was made in her personal capacity.
She sought to purchase three plots and another portion to consolidate into a single erf measuring about 8 000 square metres.
The municipality recently indicated that the erven are not serviced.
“The president viewed the intrusion as a direct and credible threat to her personal safety as head of state. Consequently, the president promptly relocated to her private house where she presently commutes from to State House daily,” the document states.
It added that the security breach at State House, specifically at the official residence of the President of the Republic of Namibia, was widely reported in the media and therefore required no further elaboration.
Opposition councillors at the City of Windhoek, including Affirmative Repositioning member Maitjituavi Kavetu, have publicly questioned the application and why the municipality did not make it public.
City of Windhoek spokesperson Harold Akwenye said the municipality had not yet approved the application.Amnesty International had to speak to Namibia to take action, adding that the government had failed the children and Angola at large.
She said the action to cater for the children had been delayed.
