20 Aug 2019

Government has decided to put on hold a Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services to demarcate for ranches SO2, formerly a wildlife management area.

 Addressing a kgotla meeting in Mabutsane on August 20, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said the decision came after the realisation  that rcommunities around SO2 had indicated that they wanted to benefit from it.

The President acknowledged that even though SO2 was initially a wildlife management area, some people occupied part of it for various uses such as livestock grazing while others had boreholes there. Dr Masisi said government believed in peace and assured his audience that those occupying part of the area would not be relocated.

He said there was need for thorough consultations in order to have mutual understanding for a fair beneficiation plan.

Government, he said, decided to consult further on the issue after realising that stakeholders had differing views on the proposed use of the area.

He said the consultations and subsequent decision would be done in a transparent manner without violating their rights.

The President called on the relevant consulting authorities to handle the issue with utmost thoroughness. He promised that the decision that would ultimately be reached would not negatively affect anyone.

However, he said they should realise that if the final decision was to be demarcate the land for ranches, all Batswana had an equal right to submit their requests.

Dr Masisi appealed to the affected communities to maintain calmness as the issue would be resolved amicably. 

In his welcome remarks, Mabutsane senior chief representative Kgosi Kgakgamatso Moletsane had said communities around the SO2 area were against the decision to utilise the land for ranching because it was close to villages. 

He said such a move would result in shortage of grazing land and hamper expansion of Mabutsane and other villages such as Khakhea and Morwamosu.

“We are currently faced with shortage of land and therefore the decision to allocate ranches in that area will affect us negatively. Our wish is for the land to be demarcated for ploughing fields, business plots for young people, among other uses that could benefit our communities,” he said.

On other issues, President Masisi said as Botswana journeyed  towards Vision 2036, there was need to find alternative ways of creating jobs since the current market was saturated due to population growth. 

 

He said moving from resource-based to a knowledge-based  economy called for new strategies of using new technology to create employment and diversify the economy. ENDS