23 Apr 2015

President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama has assured residents of Ledumadumane in Mogoditshane constituency that government will, this year, hasten the process of land allocation in their area.

President Khama told residents yesterday (April 23) that his office would accelerate land allocation through dialogue with all relevant local authorities.

The claimants, being children whose parents’ fields were repossessed by government to pave way for the greater Gaborone developments, would be allocated land before the end of the year, the President said.

For his part, Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr Prince Maele explained that the delay to allocate the said plots was caused by differences among communities that were supposed to benefit, hence delay in the submission of the list of all claimants to his office.

Had it not been internal squabbles, Minister Maele said the whole process of land allocation could have been commenced on February this year.  All things being equal, the minister promised residents that they would vet all applicants by June and proceed to offer plots before end of the year.

“Those who have plots in the district will be disqualified in order to make sure that only those who need land the most get it,” he said. He further explained the importance of this exercise, saying there were only 1000 plots available for allocation, while there were about 1192 applicants.

He however, said his ministry will not prioritise a certain community over others where land allocation is concerned. Mr Maele informed residents that the Mogoditshane Sub Land Board was still dealing with applications submitted in 1993 as their waiting list stood at 143 000

He noted that there was no more farming land that could be allocated in Kweneng, encouraging residents to seek elsewhere and obtain a covering letter from their land board to confirm that their land has been repossessed so that their applications could be expedited.

On other issues, Mr Maele reminded residents that it was Batswana who pushed for the abolition of public election of land board members as it had been deeply politicized”

The current arrangement where applicants submit interest based on their qualification was initiated by Batswana and if they want it reversed, we have no problem in implementing their wishes,” he said.

Responding to their concerns, meanwhile, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Slumber Tsogwane, said government will build a tarred road connecting Ledumadumane and Mmopane this financial year. He highlighted that the road will facilitate other developments such as water and electricity connections and also speeds up other developments in the village.

General Manager for Gaborone Management Center, Mr Mpheke Motshwaedi said it was difficult to connect water in Ledumadumane because the plots were not serviced.

He further pointed out that residents experience water scarcity because Ledumadumane was serviced from North South Carrier one pipeline which experience constant interruptions due to pipe  ruptures.

President Khama, on water reticulation issues,  rebuked Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) for collecting money (P1000) from residents under the pretext that they will connect them to the main line only to claim insufficient funds when they are supposed to implement.

“Why did you collect money when you knew you would still not afford to connect them? By collecting their money you created an expectation that you will connect post payment. And as of now the people do not want their money because they want a service that you should provide, so please sort yourselves and connect people whose money you already have,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kweneng District Council Secretary, Mr Wazha Tema acknowledged shortage of social workers especially in Mogoditshane as only five officers were expected to handle a population of 58 000 people.

We are doing our best to augment our staff as well as provide convenient transport mode such as the use of motor bikes,” he said..

During his remarks, MP for the area, Mr Sedirwa Kgoroba noted that due to it being a dormitory town for Gaborone, Mogoditshane Sub Land Board was overwhelmed by a huge load of work and therefore called for the augmenting of staff.

He also urged the ministry of Lands to expedite change of land use especially for plots adjacent to the Gaborone-Molepolole highway so that the area could be turned into a commercial hub that will ultimately create employment for the area. ENDS