24 Jun 2015

The Minister of Lands and Housing says his ministry has no intention of reducing the wildlife management areas (WMA) in Kgalagadi for communal grazing area purposes.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting in Hukuntsi recently, Mr Prince Maele, said his ministry was aware of farmers’ concern regarding shortage of communal grazing land in Kgalagadi; however, there was no intention to extent communal grazing areas into part of WMAs.

He stated that the community should appreciate the importance and contribution of wildlife and tourism to the country’s economy and cautioned that the reduction of WMAs might have an impact on wildlife population and natural roaming patterns.

Minister Maele also noted that WMAs were often used as buffer zones between national parks and the community to guard against high chances of human-wildlife conflicts.

Human wildlife conflict, he said, was worrisome in some areas and the situation could escalade should the proximity between the national parks and the community be reduced through extending the communal areas much deeper into the WMAs.

The WMA, he said, was a zoned area to the Ministry of Wildlife and Tourism, hence he will consult with the concerned ministry for other remedial to address Kgalagadi farmers’ crisis.

The Minister was responding to a concern by Hukuntsi Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Ivy Mokgopo, who had complained of shortage of communal grazing land in Kgalagadi.

Mr Maele further encouraged Kgalagadi communities to fully utilise the land that is currently availed to them and refrain from selling their plots. He highlighted that it is disturbing to note that Batswana seems not to understand the essence of land ownership as many continue to sell their plots.

He said it is of great concern that over 345 plots were sold in Kgalagadi district in the past year, adding that the majority of that land ended up in foreign hands. He highlighted that strict measure should be urgently taken to sensitise the community on the importance of land ownership.

He stated that his ministry is in consultation with relevant stakeholders to review the land policy to unable previous land owners who have sold their land to suspend their eligibility to apply for land for a maximum of 15 years.

“Under the reviewed land policy, those who have sold their land will not be considered to be allocated land for 15 years commencing from the year they have sold their land,” he explained.

For his part, the area MP, Mr Itumeleng Moipisi applauded Kgalagadi land board for their prompt response towards youth applications. The timely response, he said, promotes and encourages land ownership among young people.ENDS