Transparency in the Resettlement Process of Namibia

This paper addresses transparency in the selection processes concerning commercial farm land to be expropriated for the purpose of resettlement and those who are selected as beneficiaries of resettlement. Based on information obtained from various reports, it is clear that transparency principles are applied in certain aspects in Namibia, but it is not always implemented in the mentioned selection processes, though the current laws and legislation in Namibia do make provision for transparency in both these selection processes. Therefore, Namibians regard the resettlement process of Namibia as not being transparent, especially with the selection process pertaining to beneficiaries to be resettled as well as land to be expropriated for resettlement purposes. In late 2008, the Namibian Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Minister Alpheus!Naruseb expressed the necessity for a resettlement process that is “clear and transparent to an extent that the officials must be able to tell unsuccessful applicants the reason behind a decision”. In view of this statement, this study was conducted by means of desk research to analyze transparency in the resettlement process with specific reference to the selection of beneficiaries and land to be expropriated to be utilized for resettlement purposes, and to mak