09 Jul 2014

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development says the government has declared McCathy’s Rust an unrecognised settlement.

Addressing the Kgalagadi District Council meeting in Hukuntsi recently, Mr Peter Siele said the government was concerned by the mushrooming of ungazzeted settlements countrywide.
He noted that new settlements worsen the councils financial situations due to the fact that they would be required be bring services that end up unutilised.

Mr Siele explained that the decision to declare McCathy’s Rust an unrecognised settlement was driven by findings from studies done by the District Land Use Planning (DLUP) in 2009 following a request by the council.

He said the findings revealed that the population of Mc Cathy’s Rust was 217 which was below the threshold of 500 inhabitants as per the national settlement policy.

He said the policy was formulated to act as a guideline to regulate the sustainable use of land and to monitor the mushrooming of settlements across the country.

He noted that the area around McCathy’s Rust was predominately used for communal grazing, adding that  transforming it into a recognised human inhabitant would affect the livestock industry in the area.

He added that the establishment of a settlement in the area would mean decreasing the already unavailable land for pastoral farming in the area. Mr Siele also noted that the settlement was surrounded by farms in the western and eastern sides along the Molopo River.

He also noted that the government has not invested much in the area in terms of infrastructure as there was only a two teacher primary school and immigration facilities. He explained that the two teacher school was built to avail education facilities closer to the community considering children’s right to education.

Mr Siele also noted that the government has other unrecognised settlements of Logaganeng, Inversnaid and Houmed. He said the District Development Committee has recommended that Logaganeng should be part of the greater Tsabong planning area.

In response to the minister’s address, Tsabong South councillor, Mr Sam Brooks expressed disappointment at the government’s decision, saying it deprives residents the right to easily access basic services such as health and education.

He argued that Mc Cathy’s Rust qualifies to be a recognised settlement because it lies along the border with South Africa which was serviced by immigration officers. He further noted that the area has a mobile health post, a headman of records and a two teacher school worth over P2 million. ENDS