01 Apr 2014

Parliament has been told that in terms of the guidelines on establishment of Court of Arbitration countrywide, the criteria used to determine the quota for headmen of arbitration include kgosi’s assessment, distance between proposed ward and already existing one as well as population, which shall not be less that 1000 people for villages and less than 500 people for standalone settlements. 

Responding to a question in Parliament from MP for Ngami, Mr Taolo Habano, the Asssitant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Olebile Gaborone explained that currently, Tsau with a population of 2 000 had one paid headmen of arbitration, Nokaneng with a population of 2 067 had nine paid headmen of arbitration whilst Sehithwa with a population of 2 748 had three. 

He said as for Nokaneng, the number of headmen of arbitration exceeded the recommended population quota and going forward, the situation will be rectified countrywide.

Minister Gaborone said there were no positions of chief representative in these villages because they were each effectively served by a senior chief representative and headmen of record and the workload did not warrant an additional chief representative position. 

MP Habano had asked the minister to state the criteria used to determine the quota for Headmen of Arbitration in Tsau, Nokaneng, and Sehithwa villages taking into account the population growth in those villages, and why positions of Chief Representatives have not been filled in these villages. Ends