17 Jun 2014

Councillors in the Central District have condemned the concept of cost recovery in land servicing, saying it leads to many people being unable to develop their plots.

Commenting after a presentation on land servicing by Mr Frans Bale from the Ministry of Lands and Housing, the councillors said there should not be any cost recovery in districts or rural areas as many people ended up unable to develop their plots.

In his presentation, Mr Bale said land servicing was piloted by the Ministry of Lands and Housing to fast track developments.

He added that the Department of Technical Services (DTS) was mandated to provide infrastructure services in accordance with approved basic standards to improve the lives of Batswana. Mr Bale said sometimes the process was not properly coordinated as land boards allocated plots prior to servicing due to public pressure.

“In future the ministry will involve the private sector to draft and conduct consultations on guidelines for public private partnerships,” he said. In response, the councilors urged government to provide people with at least water to develop their plots.

“Many plots are not developed by their rightful owners because of undeveloped serviced land,” said the councilors.

Councilor Charles Mabyeng of Lecheng said government should at least prioritize on land servicing and not rush to recover costs so that people can develop their plots. He added that many people who want to develop their plots are discouraged by lack of roads, water nor electricity.

Councilor Ishmael Mokgethi of Tutume west said cost recovery should not be imposed in rural areas because the life style of rural area dwellers is different from that of people in urban areas.

Councilor Solomon Dikgang of Tidimalo ward said the issue of land servicing results in rural urban migration as it encourages many people to relocate to town. He encouraged government to come up with ways of assisting people in rural areas to develop their plots. ENDS