18 Dec 2017

Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Prince Maele has admitted that there have been delays in land allocation due to a number of factors.

 Mr Maele, who was responding to a question on Friday, explained that the land delivery process was lengthy and costly, adding that in some cases it resulted in perceived or real delays in the allocation of plots to Batswana.

He noted that the process included the acquisition, planning, surveying and servicing of land prior to allocation.

The minister also noted that most of the land in the country was occupied or zoned for different land uses, adding that it was necessary to acquire land from landholders for village expansion and planning prior to allocation.

He said the process was lengthy as landholders often cited insufficient compensation offered.

Regarding land management strategies aimed at improving land management, Mr Maele noted that Parliament recently passed the Tribal Land Bill where improved compensation was included.

He said it would improve the situation further and reduce the turnaround time for land delivery.

He added that other initiatives to speed up and rationalise land delivery included the national spatial plan, land information system and the national registration project.

He said the initiatives would avail information that would expedite decision making on land management.

Regarding land servicing, Mr Maele explained that land needed to be serviced prior to allocation, stating further that together with land acquisition, planning and surveying, it competed for funding.

“My ministry is embarking on minimal land servicing to ease land allocation and development. For instance, 21 minimal land servicing projects under the Economic Stimulus Programme have provided a total of 27 131 plots with basic services around the country,” he said.

Mr Maele said while the commitment to provide basic services prior to allocation had slowed down land allocation, it was a step in the right direction since it facilitated Batswana to develop their plots upon allocation.

He said it was also consistent with the pronouncements of the land policy. The minister noted that while some areas had long waiting lists dating back to the 1990s, some did not have long waiting lists and that allocations were made within shorter periods.

He said Mogoditshane had over 140 000 applications while Nata and Gweta had a combined waiting list of 10 343 with applications dating back to 2014.

Nata-Gweta MP, Mr Polson Majaga had requested the minister to give an update on land allocation delays in the country. Ends