31 Jul 2018

Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology says government is doing its best to take services closer to the people.

Addressing a kgotla meeting on July 30, Mr Ngaka Ngaka, who is also the Member of Parliament for Takatokwane Constituency, thus pleaded with residents of Kgare-Sebotswane lands to be patient as efforts to declare the area a settlement are still ongoing.

Residents had long requested that the area be declared a settlement, arguing it predated landboards and even the country’s independence.

They also argued that other smaller and newer areas than theirs had long been declared settlements.

Mr Ngaka informed them that sometime back, the local authority engaged a task force that recommended that the area be declared a settlement and incorporated into the nearby Ditshegwane village as a ward.

“The task force presented the report to the Kweneng District Council and the recommendation was later forwarded to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the last time I checked with them I was informed that they have passed the matter to the relevant ministry and still awaiting response,” he said.

Thus, he promised to get back to the residents with a response as soon as it was availed to him, no matter its outcome. He therefore requested them to be patient with the matter, and that all other issues such as two-teacher classrooms and mobile clinic would not be possible until the area had been declared a settlement.

“Our main focus here should be to fight for declaration, then the rest will automatically follow. Together with the area councillor, we are fighting very hard for this issue to be settled because we very well know what this area means to you looking at the historical connection you have with it,” he said.

Mr Ngaka said the irony of the case was that there were some residents who were issued with residential certificates before the landboard decided to cease issuing them.

The area councillor, Mr Tshabahule Kgotlhang said it was disheartening that other newer areas in the Letlhakeng Sub-District, with even smaller populations had long been declared settlements ahead of Kgare-Sebotswane. 

He thus pleaded with Mr Ngaka to push harder the issue with the Cabinet so that developments could finally come to the area.

The Action Committee chairperson, Ms Bothuseng Kebitswaemang had initially indicated that failure to declare the area a settlement had hampered developments such as provision of a two-teacher classroom schools.

She said that then forced them to enroll their children at Ditshegwane, which was distant.

“This then forces us to also relocate to Ditshegwane because our children would have no one to take care of them, but then relocating creates another challenge for us as it means we are forced to abandon ploughing which is our only livelihood,” she said.

Ms Kebitswaemang said such a situation made life difficult for them. ENDS