25 Apr 2017

New land board members have been asked to be open, honest, direct and responsible individuals in their deliberations.
Speaking during an orientation workshop for new land board members in Gaborone on April 24, the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Prince Maele said the influence they were going to wield with respect to the socio-economic and political development of the country was unquestionable.

Mr Maele said their lives were going to change as some would be liked and hated, but emphasised that they should know that they were taking up a great responsibility which demands utmost care and sensitivity.
Mr Maele pointed out that “the value of land is immeasurable and its management complex.”

“We all know that land issues are by nature emotive and often controversial,” said the minister,  adding that there was no solution that could satisfy everybody. He stated that what might satisfy one section of society might not satisfy the other.
Minister Maele also reminded the new members that they were going to be managing a finite resource “which does not increase in size, and it is very important that they are honest, direct and responsible individuals.”
He advised them that they must ensure that physical planning and land management become the cornerstones in the allocation and management of Botswana’s limited land resources.

He also emphasised teamwork as the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results and the need to invest in a formidable team.
As professionals, he said their role was to serve the people without fear or favour, but as a collective effort.
Mr Maele said his ministry had a bad image emanating from long waiting lists for both plot allocation, appeals resolutions, resolution of tribunal cases, poor service delivery, poor turnaround times and corruption.
He called for all to put in place initiatives that would change the perception.

Minister Maele called on the new land board members to continue to improve the corporate image of the ministry, saying they should be sensitive to people’s needs and aspirations.
He encouraged them to work on issues they could solve such as the shortage of serviced land, undeveloped plots, squatting, urban sprawl into agricultural areas and resistance by land owners to release land for redistribution, land speculation, land transfers, boswa, matlotla, poor revenue collection, poor record management, water shortage, obsolete infrastructure, lack of basic sanitation, decline of both surface and underground water, poor project management and the supervision of projects which had negatively impacted on service delivery and cost the government millions of pula.

The workshop aims at equipping new members with the necessary skills demanded for the vocation that they would be embarking upon over the next three years
It also presents an opportunity for them to introspect and share government direction, attain the inevitable alignment, shape, interpret and underlying expectations as one team.
The minister said they selected 342 out of 24 889 applications looking at geographic representation, gender balance, experience, background qualification and integrity.
He urged them to manage land with sensitivity as it was the most important resource in any economy.  ENDS