06 May 2014

The Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr Lebonaamang Mokalake has urged the newly appointed land board members to show commitment and dedication in executing their duties.

Speaking at the induction workshop of new land board members in Francistown on May 5, Minister Mokalake said the members had been tasked with a big responsibility that demanded them to put aside their interest and prioritise land issues.

He said members should ensure fair and equitable allocation of land at all times, adding that by accepting to serve the nation as land board members, they had limited some of their rights and freedoms.

The minister explained that the manner in which they conducted themselves during and outside working hours should be commensurate with the responsibility bestowed upon them.

He noted that one of the issues that were raised in the 10 Point Agenda was lack of adherence to time schedules by service providers, hence they should ensure they honour all appointments. Mr Mokalake encouraged them to always communicate with their clients once they could not honour the appointments.

Furthermore, he encouraged them to refrain from delaying to make decisions and be firm while at the same time flexible to accommodate reasonable changes.

He said land boards front desks should be manned by people who were conversant with the operations of the board in order to be better positioned to assist customers effectively.

On other issues, the minister implored land boards to desist from purchasing expensive vehicles but rather purchase vehicles that were fit for purpose.

Proposing a vote of thanks, a member of the Palapye sub-land Board Mr Tubego Mafhoko observed that most land boards’ front desks were manned by interns. He said with the introduction of land board chairperson’s offices, he was optimistic that information dissemination will be improved.

The theme of the workshop was, “Quality Service, key to good corporate governance” and was attended by all land board members in the northern cluster.

The workshop aimed at inducting new members on the role of the Ministry of Lands and Housing, prudent use of resources, ministry’s policy on corruption prevention and members code of conduct amongst other issues. ENDS