01 Jun 2014

Though land is a finite resource, some Batswana continue to sell it to foreigners, Mogoditshane MP, Mr Patrick Masimolole has said.

He warned residents of Khudiring in Mogoditshane against selling land during a kgotla meeting. Mr Masimolole, also Assistant Minister for Education and Skills Development, said there was high demand for land near urban centers, the situation he said called for prudent use and allocations.

Mr Masimolole said in the past, some residents in Mogoditshane who patronaged the land-board and his offices for land allocations had since turned around and sold land in exchange for access to luxurious materials such imported vehicles and alcohol.

He said it was disheartening to see such individuals and their children now all-over Botswana scouting for plots to settle and now like beggars in their country because there queues in all land-boards as more Batswana want land to settle.

Mr Masimolole said Mogoditshane had negotiated a special arrangement with the sub-landboard to allocate plots to children whose parents gave up their ploughing fields to the landboard and also over the issue of squatters who were to pay and not have the land confiscated by government.

He said some of the people who benefited from such arrangement have since transferred ownership of such plots majority to foreigners and warned residents that they should not be surprised when such people become chiefs and their representatives in council or Parliament.

Mogoditshane Sub-landboard official, Mr Kebalepile Montshiwa said the office is overwhelmed by transfers even from new allocations, citing recent allocations in Mokolodi where from 500 allocated plots over 400 has since been transferred to new owners.

Mr Montshiwa conceded that though the board could not be perfect all the time, majority of complaints about land issues lies with residents/individuals who come with pretext wanting plots to sell whilst others buy from unscrupulous and involve landboard when the deal has gone sour or buying illegal plots.

Some residents faulted the landboard for taking too long to regularise plots status as per the negotiated agreement on squatters, some matters dating back to 1989 and the Kgabo land audit report era.

They accused the landboard of reneging on allocating children whose parents lost fields to land board, the situation the board official blamed on parents who registered foreigners as their children when in fact such foreigners paid to be included. Ends