16 Jul 2014

Legislators have rejected a proposal to reserve a certain percentage of land for the natives of areas around towns and cities because of land pressure in those areas.

Contributing to the debate on the proposal of the Botswana Land Policy, the Member of Parliament for Tswapong North, Mr Prince Maele said such an effort would work against the concept of nationalism, which Botswana held in high regard since independence.

Mr Maele also argued that paragraph 56 of the policy contradicts paragraph 72 as the former indicates that shortage of land is a challenge across the whole country, while the latter indicates that special dispensation should only be availed to communities of areas around towns and cities.

He cited Lecheng, a small village near Palapye saying because of the rapid growth of Palapye, Lecheng is under immense land pressure as many people want to own plots there, but that because Palapye is not considered a city or town, it will mean that natives of Lecheng will not benefit from the policy.

He said this is despite the fact that they are under the same land pressure as people of villages such as Tlokweng and Metsimotlhabe.

Mr Maele said the policy also tempers with human rights as it deprives people, an equal opportunity of being allocated land wherever they want, and said that if a selective allocation should be included in the policy, it should then apply across the country and not to certain areas only.

Mr Maele therefore said he would not support the proposed policy unless such a selective dispensation is removed.

The MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi also opposed the motion, saying that it has the potential to fuel tribalism in the country, and that in cosmopolitan areas such as Francistown, the policy will be difficult to implement.

Mr Mmolotsi however, welcomed special dispensation for vulnerable groups such as the youth and women.

Legislators were contributing to the motion tabled by the Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr Lebonaamang Mokalake, who had requested that Parliament adopt the Botswana Land Policy, which was not conclusively debated last year due to time constraints.

Mr Mokalake said the primary goal of the proposed policy was to protect and promote land rights of all landholders and promotes sustainable human settlement, and that it included among others, a special dispensation which will be made to accommodate the needs of the remote area communities and any other disadvantaged groups that can be identified.

He also said that the proposed policy intends to provide for an affirmative land allocation system for inhabitants originating from communities around towns and cities where there is land pressure.

Mr Mokalake said this was in an effort to preserve their cultural identity. ENDS