20 Jun 2017

Batlokwa are contemplating erecting a palace for the royal family.

The palace will among others be the official residence of the tribe’s kgosi and their treasure.

This came to light during a kgotla meeting addressed by Batlokwa kgosi and chairperson of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi, Kgosi Puso recently in Tlokweng.

He told his subjects that a plot for the said palace had already been identified and what was left was for the land board to formalise its allocation.

The palace will serve as kgosi Kgolo’s residence and will be passed on from one generation to the next.

Kgosi Puso expressed the need for tribes to care for their dikgosi, adding that the prevailing conditions were not enticing enough for some of stay in chieftainship.

Thus, he said there was need for tribes to come up with strategies that  would make their chiefs not to abandon bogosi for politics.

He said some tribal offices in which dikgosi work lacked basics such as curtains, air conditioners, and computers while some had dilapidated furniture.

Kgosi Puso said bogosi was one path which had no promotion, hence the need to keep the environment appealing at all times to avoid situations where some are lured into politics.

On other tribal issues, Kgosi Puso told the meeting that his office was also looking at the possibility of having a cultural village, which would have a community museum.

He further said this year cultural day celebrations would be held at VDC grounds and there would  be an entrance fee.

Kgosi Puso expressed the need for Batlokwa Development Trust to generate funds to be used in community development, citing the need to have electricity at the VDC grounds.

He said this year they would try to broaden the event and give it a unique identity to appeal to all.

Principal Legal Aid Counsellor at Legal Aid Botswana, Ms Isabella Mathiba told the residents that Legal Aid Botswana assisted all that were eligible and that it did not have means to hire legal practitioners.

Ms Mathiba said there was an assessment that was done before assisting a person to determine if such person qualified.

Further, he said they were independent from government, as such, they could represent clients even if their cases were against government institutions. BOPA