24 Jul 2016

Dovedale and Mmaphashalala have been declared planning area, Minister of Lands and housing, Mr Prince Maele has said.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting addressed by President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama recently, Mr Maele said the area was declared  the planning area after  prospects of coal mine were established. 

Consequently, he said the allocation of plots in the area was suspended to allow the preparation of base map and other prerequisite process of a planning area.

The base map, he said, had been  submitted to physical planning department for inspection.

Minister Maele assured Dovedale residents that after completion of the process, his ministry would resume plots allocation.

He said plot allocation waiting list at Dovedale stood at 486 and would be dealt with after completion of the process.

He was responding to Mr Peter Moesi concern that the land board had long stopped plot allocation at Dovedale.

Responding to the request made by Dovedale residents to have access to Limpopo River, Mr Maele said to seek access way to river and also to request for ample space for easy patrol between the border and freehold farms, required comprehensive consultation with lands owners.

He said the process would be lengthy as the freehold land ownership giave most lands right to the land owners.

Mr Maele said the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security had been taken on board.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ms Fatima Makgethe advised pastoral farmers to restrict their livestock from grazing in areas with mogau and legonyana.

Ms Makgethe stated that during droughttimes, mogau and legonyana became dominant in some grazing areas. Ends