WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — Namibia’s newly elected president is setting out the agenda for her coming administration, and one of the priorities may be removal of the red line, a remnant of Namibia’s colonial period that divides the country and restricts the movement of agricultural products, especially beef, between north and south.

The outbreak of cattle disease in the 1890s prompted Namibia’s colonial German rulers to block the free movement of livestock between northern and southern Namibia.

The practice extended into the era of South African rule. In the 1960s, authorities built a fence across the width of the country, about 1,000 kilometers long. People can cross the fence freely but cannot transport agricultural products such as beef, fruit and vegetables.

The AR Movement, a political party that finished third in last month’s National Assembly elections, is suing the state, hoping to force the removal of the fence, which is commonly called the red line.

The party says the government has maintained the fence to the economic disadvantage of Namibia’s majority black population, which lives mostly in the north.

AR Movement legislator George Kambala told VOA the party’s campaign message calling for the removal of the red line resonated with voters in the north.

“There have been three feasibility studies done on the red line, and all three are recommending the removal of the redline,” he said. “Once you remove the red line, the agricultural sector will contribute three times what it contributes now to the economy.”

Beef is one of Namibia’s chief exports. In January 2024, 42% of Namibia’s beef exports went to the European Union. However, this beef is sourced only south of the red line.

Responding to questions posed by VOA at a press conference Thursday, Namibia’s president-elect, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, said removal of the red line was agreed to at the country’s second national land conference six years ago.

She said the issue is being hijacked by the AR Movement to score political points.

“It can have an economic impact, and that’s why now as a government, we have a plan on how to gradually … and we have already started … reach that,” she said.

Right now, there is no date for when the red line would be eliminated.

Former Prime Minister Nahas Angula — who is also a commercial farmer in the south of Namibia — said removal of the red line is complicated by the fact that northern Namibian farmers sometimes graze their cattle in Angola.

He said the red line, although a relic of colonial Namibia, still plays a role in assuring the European market that beef from Namibia is free from foot and mouth disease, which periodically breaks out in parts of northern Namibia.

“Northern Namibia is overcrowded, and some farmers go to graze their cattle in Angola,” Angula said. “So, if you want to open up borders — open up the red line — you must actually work with Angola to make sure that vaccination is carried out in Angola. … that all the … animals are properly vaccinated from time to time.

“It’s a complicated situation,” he said.

Hearings on the AR Movement’s lawsuit to eliminate the red line are scheduled to begin January 21 and are expected to last 10 days. Given the complexity of the case, judges may take several months to issue a ruling.
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