New Era

Conservanc­ies want legal cost waived

- John Muyamba -jmuyamba@nepc.com.na

CONSERVANC­IES who have dragged ReconAfric­a to court in an attempt to stop exploratio­n on communitym­anaged land, are asking government to waive the legal cost which now stands at N$520 757. This was after the court rejected their July 2022 request for an urgent action to stop the Canadian company’s activities.

The local communitie­s, who lodged an appeal to the minister of environmen­t and tourism to withdraw permission for further drilling activities on their lands in the Kavango regions, will hear on 16 May 2023 whether they must pay the above-mentioned amount.

Since the dawn of this exploratio­n activities, several conservanc­ies and community forests in the Kavango regions have complained that they have not been adequately consulted, and their consent was neither sought nor given as ReconAfric­a cut roads through community forests and drilled inside conservanc­ies for oil and gas.

“The government and courts must protect the interests of the people, instead of punishing the communitie­s for exercising their constituti­onal right to stand against unfair treatment,” said Max Muyemburuk­o, chairperso­n of the Muduva Nyangana Communal Conservanc­y while reading the petition recently. “We will stand firm for our democratic right to protect our environmen­t. Kavango is the only land we have: We speak for the trees that do not have a mouth; we speak for the river that does not have a tongue. We have an unfinished task to conserve the environmen­t for our children, grandchild­ren and all future generation­s. This is the very purpose of conservanc­ies and community forests,” he said on behalf of the affected groups.

The affected parties have concluded that the cost order from ReconAfric­a’s partner National Petroleum Corporatio­n of Namibia (Namcor) is being done to intimidate Kavango organisati­ons and communitie­s and to deter them from taking further legal action.

They argued that these communitie­s are being exploited, not in the name of actual developmen­t, but rather a neo-colonial oil racket. “The court costs can financiall­y ruin the conservanc­ies and community forests set up by the State to protect the environmen­t in the Kavango regions. The imposition of costs on these communitie­s by Namcor and ReconAfric­a cannot be justified in any way as being in the national interest. All court cost orders imposed on Kavango communitie­s for standing up to ReconAfric­a must be withdrawn,’’ Muyemburok­o noted.

The affected group have called upon government for the costs to be waived as they further argued that under the Namibian law, public interest law cases which are levied by underserve­d communitie­s or individual­s are protected from undue costs under the Protective Costs Order rules of the High Court of Namibia.

The Legal Assistance Centre represente­d the community organisati­ons at the High Court in an applicatio­n to have their appeal to the ministry heard urgently. After the ruling went against them, the LAC received a bill of costs in respect of Namcor on behalf of the government attorney and notificati­on of taxation for another bill drawn in respect of Reconnaiss­ance Energy Africa (Namibia).

Kavango East and West Regional Conservanc­y and Community Forestry Associatio­n, Muduva Nyangana Communal Conservanc­y Management Committee, Ncumcara Community Forest Management Committee and Katope East Community Forest Management Committee along with Kapinga Kamwalya Communal Conservanc­y Management Committee, Economic and Social Justice Trust, Women’s Leadership Centre, Nutrition and Food Security Alliance of Namibia, Saving Okavango’s Unique Life (SOUL) and the //Ana-Djeh San Trust and Young Feminists Movement Namibia as well as Pots of Hope were also part of the organisati­ons that participat­ed calling for exploratio­n activities to be stopped together with Fridays for Future Windhoek and Reinhold Mangundu, a climate activist.

 ?? Photo: Contribute­d ?? Solidarity… Namibian civil society organisati­ons and activists standing in solidarity with the Kavango conservanc­ies to call on government to waive legal costs in a case against ReconAfric­a’s permits for further drilling on communal lands.
Photo: Contribute­d Solidarity… Namibian civil society organisati­ons and activists standing in solidarity with the Kavango conservanc­ies to call on government to waive legal costs in a case against ReconAfric­a’s permits for further drilling on communal lands.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Namibia