07 Oct 2018

While Francistown city councillors are adamant that Tati Company Limited owns a huge chunk of land in the North East District, the company says, it has sold most of the land.

The company also highlighted that it currently owns five per cent of freehold land in the North East District, which includes farms.

Speaking during a breakfast meeting between the company and civic leaders on Thursday, Tati Company Limited general manager, Mr Ogaisitse Khama,  said there were a lot of misconceptions about the compnay’s land ownership.

He, however, said that he noted the concerns of the civic leaders and was looking forward to working with them to resolve issues of concern.
Mr Khama explained that Tati Company and the city council  were partners in development, adding that at independence, most of the land in the North East District belonged to Tati Company, which is currently owned by the Bernard Glazer Trust, incorporated in South Africa. “Land ownership in the North East District has historically been disputed due to displacement during internecine warfare during nation building periods.

However, after independence, government informed the company that it wanted land. The company held title to land in the district, including Francistown,” he said.

 Mr Khama explained that through the 1969 agreement, the company donated all the land in Francistown to government at no fee.
The company, he asserted, remained with farms and some freehold portions of land. According to the general manager, the majority of the land that the company held in the past has been sold and developed.

Consequently, he asserted that Tati Company participates in the social and economic development of the city, noting that it has created employment for residents of Francistown but highlighted that they want to partner with the city to bring developments with the little land they have.

Francistown Mayor, Ms Sylvia Muzila, said the consultative meeting was borne out of concerns raised by councillors during previous meetings on the operations of the land owning company.

She noted that some time ago, the local authority bought a 139-hectare farm but had difficulty accessing the land.

Therefore, the mayor explained that Tati Company Limited called the meeting so that they could dialogue and find a way forward regarding accessing the farm.

Furthermore, Ms Muzila added that as per the councillors’ concerns, they also wanted to find out the role of Tati Company in the development of Francistown and their community involvement as the biggest landlord in the district.

Despite  explanations, councillors still accused the company of denying Batswana land, which rightly belonged to them.
Specially elected councillor, Mr James Kgalajwe said after Botswana’s protectorate status ended at independence, those who were protected lost their land to the company.

“At independence this land should have been handed back to the local people in the North East District,” he quipped.

He narrated an incident in which after the city council, in conjunction with the mines department, rehabilitated the old mine shafts Tati Company appeared on the scene and sub-divided the land taking with them ten per cent of the rehabilitated portion.
 Land, he maintained, was a sensitive issue in Southern Africa, hence government needed to move with speed to buy all the land in the hands of the company and give it back to its rightful owners.

Councillor Kgalajwe highlighted that was what they told the lands minister when he addressed the full council meeting recently.

“Let us liberate the people of the North East District from the Tati Concession,” he emphasized.

Somerset East councillor, Mr Joe Gunda, decried inadequate grazing land in the district and asked Tati Company to release land to the communities to alleviate their suffering.

Councillor for Kanana ward, Mr Cornelius Gopolang, wanted to know what the company was doing to rehabilitate the old mines, which were a safety hazard to the community.

He called for the opening up of a meaningful discussion on land ownership in the district to alleviate the acute shortages. Ends