The Landless People's Movement (LPM) leader, Bernadus Swartbooi, has urged President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to address the matter in which he said Black people were losing land through repossession by Agribank due to unpaid loans.

Swartbooi raised the concern during President Nandi-Ndaitwah's maiden State of the Nation Address yesterday, saying Agribank is no longer an affirmative action bank.

"It is a bank with the principal aim of repossessing land from our people, maximising profits and becoming insensitive, and this cannot go on. Again, when you look at the amount that you spoke about, $561 million or so for purchasing cattle and many other things, there is indeed a commendable action, but a very small amount for the sector that has lived through 20 years of drought. In addition, drought is such a powerful thing. In fact, drought led to the enablement of communities becoming poor."

In addition, Swartbooi said one can also hardly get a loan, while the government subsidy is also low.

"When you look at Europeans under WTO rules, you are not supposed to subsidise agriculture. But Europeans under the Common Agricultural Policy have taken the route to say that agriculture and farming are actually cultural enterprises. The traditional food, the way rural life is maintained—that's our culture—and, through the cultural process, they have actually funded agriculture. If you are a farmer in France today or in Germany, you are likely to get a €40,000 subsidy annually; here we don't get it. Farmers are telling us that everything is your own money, and you're the resources, and the cost of production has gone up, but the income that farmers get has decreased by over 40% over the past 35 years. It's tough to be a farmer."

Swartbooi also took issue with the operations of the Namibia Revenue Agency.