04 Mar 2015

The Central District Council chairperson, Mr Peter Williams says the Ngwato Land Board is faced with a serious challenge of revenue collection.

Speaking at the CDC full council session in Serowe on Monday, March 2, Mr Williams said the situation of revenue collection of payment of lease rentals by plot owners was really a concern.

He said as at January 31, 2015, the land board was owed more than P65 000, and P53 000 of this amount covered arrears.

Mr Williams said despite that the board had implemented strategies in an effort to make payment of rentals easier throughout the country, which includes making payments at Standard Chartered Bank and the Botswana Post offices, no positive fruits were forthcoming.  

He said the land board had noted that some of the reasons for non-collection could be improper record keeping and it was currently engaged in record verification exercise to update personal information and confirm plots’ availability on the ground.

He said 1 908 files had been verified and presented to the land board for decision making as it was resolved that the list of the verified debtors be publicized in newspapers to allow the defaulter’s time to settle their rentals.

The council chairperson stated that plot owners who fail to settle their arrears would be handed to debt collectors.

On other issues, Mr Williams said the early rains made a significant improvement in the condition of grazing and that of livestock across species.

He said the subsequent dry spells coupled with winds have however made a drastic change in the grazing condition on a downward trend too early than normal.

Mr Williams said it occurred even before the grass could mature to withstand that dry spell, noting that the situation leaves uncertainties on the condition of the range into the winter season if it does not rain during this month.

He further said this was an early warning that if the situation continues it would impact negatively on grazing land and livestock conditions.

Mr Williams however advised farmers to consider making a contingency plan for supplementing their animals when the situation continues.

He also raised a concern that the cordon fences which were constructed to restrict cattle movement and minimise spreading of disease were no longer serving the intended purpose.

The constant damages, he said had resulted in buffalo incursions and efforts to repair the fences bore no fruits as elephants continued to break them.

He called for a holistic approach to assist abate the challenge since the ministry of Agriculture alone cannot manage.

On issues of waste management, Mr Williams said it remained a serious issue in the district, adding that during a recent tour of the district it was observed that there were some government institutions and facilities that were not complying with the requirements of the waste management Act of 1998.

He said some government institutions and facilities were littered and covered with overgrown vegetation, noting that the situation was not healthy to take the nation to 2016.

He said the expectation was to see government departments, parastatals, business community and the general community at large taking up the initiative of clean up campaigns to enhance quality of life and a beautiful environment.  ENDS