28 Jun 2016

Kgatleng councillors have been encouraged to implore their electorates to register their plots for better service delivery.

Speaking during the on-going Kgatleng full council session on June 23, Kgatleng Land Board secretary Mr Abednico Maphuru said land registration went far beyond resolving land disputes.

He said the benefits of land registration included among others, easy identification of plot owners and planning process for provision of utilities and infrastructure.

Mr Maphuru further said allocation of plot numbers after registration would make postal and courier services accessible and easier for health and social services to reach communities.

The land board secretary further said plot registration would make it easier for electoral, population and housing surveys to be carried out in an open democratic setup.

He told councillors that a total of 43 066 plots had been surveyed while 18 604 had been claimed and only 10 939 verified as at June 7, 2016. 

Mr Maphuru said the National Land Policy was approved by Parliament in August 2015 and there were some salient issues in the policy among them, the amendment to government proposing that every Motswana be entitled to allocation of a residential plot regardless of their marital status.

He said currently, clause 58 as read with 72 (iii) implied that married people were entitled to one residential plot. 

The board secretary said another issue proposed was that one would not be allowed to alienate their last residential plot acquired directly from the land authority which was meant to ensure dignified livelihoods and curb homelessness.

Mr Maphuru said the Presidential Directive 29/15 (b) of 2015 had declared that Kgatleng district be regarded as a high pressure area when allocating residential plots. For layout plans, residents would be allocated from waiting list on a ratio of 60 per cent locals and 40 per cent non- locals.

Councillors expressed different views on land issues but concurred that new developments being undertaken by land boards were long overdue, adding that it would have curbed a lot of land disputes if it was implemented some years ago.  Ends