05 Mar 2015

The Palapye Sub-land Board is faced with a serious shortage of land, says the sub council chairperson, Mr Lesedi Phuthego.

Mr Phuthego told a sub-council meeting that the waiting list for villages of Palapye, Topisi, Lerala and Lecheng stands at 25 190. He said 16 437 applicants were awaiting plot allocation in Palapye while the waiting list for Lecheng near Palapye stands at 6 163. Lerala and Topisi stand at 1 120 and 1 430 respectively.

Palapye Sub-land Board covers the villages of Lerala, Majwaneng, Ratholo, Manaledi, Goo-Tau, Goo-Sekgweng, Mathakola, Mokungwane, Lecheng, Topisi and Palapye.  The latter was declared a planning area in 1995.

Mr Phuthego said the Palapye Sub-land Board was planning to design a layout totaling over 1 620 hactares in its area of jurisdiction for different villages.  However, he said the number of plots to be availed would be determined by planners at the time of designs.

He said the planning space for Lecheng, for instance, covers an area of 274 hactares anticipated to yield approximately 4 000 to 5 000 plots of various uses. 

The sub council chairperson noted that cadastral survey for Manaledi, Goo Sekgweng and Palapye infills had been completed. 

He added that Manaledi has 285 plots of various uses, Goo Sekgweng has 400 plots of various uses whilst the Palapye infill layout comprises 672 plots of various uses. He noted that the surveyed plots were with the Department of Surveys and Mapping for approval.

He said he was hopeful that this would address the problem of land shortage faced by the community. In addition, he said the land board has acquired some fields at Lerala in order to pave way for the village expansion. 

“Field owners have not been compensated yet,” he added. Regarding demarcation of fields layout at Dikabeya, Mr Phuthego said the sub-land board intends to make use of prime and fertile agricultural land solely for arable agricultural purposes. 

“This area is zoned for the production of food crops, feed, forage and horticultural plants,” he said.

In order to protect prime and fertile agricultural land, he said the Palapye Sub-land Board had demarcated field layouts in the area totaling 236 plots with a minimum of nine ha and a maximum of 16 hactares.

He said those who had already been allocated plots would still enjoy their rights and encouraged to utilise the area for arable production.  So far, he added the land board had allocated 46 integrated farms in the area. ENDS