12 Mar 2018

 Ngwato Land Board chairperson, Mr David Modisagape says the integrated land use plan 2017 for Mokubilo, Mmea, Makgaba, Mosu and Mmatshumo is meant to ensure orderly growth and development in the area.

Mr Modisagape said this during a kgotla meeting in Letlhakane on recently.

He said the plan was a development guide, which served as a strategic indicative forward planning tool meant to guide decisions on land development and utilisation in the plan area.

He stated that the land use plan would coordinate developments in the settlements for 20 years plan period.

Implementation stage, he said entailed coordination from all relevant stakeholders and the purpose being to maximise use of available resources as well as ensure fair distribution of land.

The plan, he said would be implemented in short-term, medium term and in the long term basis.

Mr Modisagape said the proposed land use zones were agricultural zones, which covered a large area and took form of livestock farming and crop production.

The proposed land use zones, he said were arable agricultural zones, pastoral agricultural zones, protected area zones, tourism zones and settlement zones.

Furthermore, he told Letlhakane residents that Ngwato Land Board had recently conducted Makoba communal area fencing feasibility study as per the National Policy on Agricultural Development (NPAD), which was adopted by government in 1991.

The fencing policy, he said was aimed at improving the traditional communal management systems for improved beef production at the same time ensuring land use and environmental sustainability.

Mr Modisagape stated that feasibility studies would gauge the viability of demarcating and fencing of ranches.

Ngwato Land Board implementing policy as per Central District Integrated Land Use Plan Zones and communal fencing studies, he said included TGLP, Kaka, Western Sandveld, Area 4B, Lepashe, Boteti zone 6, zone 2,3, 4, 6 and their respective extensions.

The specific objectives, he said was to assess land use pattern of the area to provide detailed description of communities residing in study area, establish the likely effects of fencing on the identified communities and find out the attitudes towards fencing by different communities concerned.

The intended objective, he said was also to determine grazing capacity of proposed area and determine livestock population as well as the existing management systems in the study area.

He said it was also intended to capture existing water points in the study area in terms of distribution, type, condition and ownership.

Mr Modisagape stated that the study area was defined by an imaginary 20km radius from Letlhakane arc on the west, Orapa-Francistown road intersection and Letlhakane - Serowe road.

The study findings, he said revealed that there were self-allocated arable fields in zoned pastoral areas adding that they had also identified two ungazetted settlements at Ditawana and Tsutsuga in the study area.

He cited that Tsutsuga settlement had Basarwa community graveyards originating in the area.

Some water points, he said were less than six kilometres apart implying that there was more than one water point per ranch.

He stated that farmers allocated agricultural holdings, grazed communally resulting in over-grazing and employee welfare was not up to standard as well as squatting in government boreholes.

The dominant land use, he said was pastoral farming with unrecognized settlements and unregistered ploughing fields for subsistence use.

The potential carrying capacity for northern part was 8-12 hectares per livestock unit implying that six by six kilometres ranch could accommodate 300 to 450 cattle whilst southern part could accommodate 200 to 277 cattle at a carrying capacity of 13 to 18 hectares per livestock unit.

Establishment of ranches, he said would therefore compel farmers to adhere to the stipulated stocking rates, adding that the proposed layout had 70 ranches.

He stated that recommendations were that ranches as per the proposed layout observe 20 kilometres radius around Letlhakane and protection area would be provided for existing graveyards.

In Tsutsuga, he said those with ploughing fields would be requested to relocate inside their ploughing field while and the marginalised group would be encouraged to relocate to Makgaba. Ends