25 Sep 2019

Residents of Mababe have resolved to seek the intervention of the Office of the President regarding delays in resolving the issue of the recognition of their village.

Residents said they had long called for the recognition of their village, so that they could be allocated plots and issued with certificates.

They said in 2016, the then minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services gave them three options to choose from which included: being allocated plots under state land, changing the area to tribal land or relocating.

Residents were also given some time to make a final decision and they opted to be allocated plots under state land, but they said to date, nothing had happened. 

Mababe is situated in concession area NG 41, which is classified as a state land, thus it is administered by Department of Lands. Recently, residents sent a delegation to the ministry to follow up on the issue, but were not satisfied with the answer.

In an interview, Kgosi Galefediwe Ruthano confirmed that they intended to send a delegation to the highest office to seek intervention regarding the issue, which had dragged on for years, despite being told that the process would not take long. Kgosi Ruthano said the ministry was failing them, as last year they were informed that allocating plots in state land had some conditions, which would disadvantage the community and they agreed with officials to go and review them.

“We have been waiting patiently hoping that the exercise will not take long, but now we are running out of patience, hence resorting to meet the President to seek assistance on the matter,” he added.

Kgosi Ruthano said government could at least consider giving all residents plot numbers so that they could benefit from available empowerment programmes to uplift their livelihoods. 

He appreciated that some residents had already been given plot numbers, but insisted that all should benefit. 

Some residents who did not benefit told BOPA that they were informed that their homesteads were not in the village layout.

Narrating the background of the issue, Kgosi Ruthano said in 2007, some residents were allocated plots, but the land board stopped allocations saying it was a mistake as the village was situated in a state land.

 Some members of Village Development Committee (VDC) also decried the delay in resolving the matter, revealing that they were failing to undertake income generating projects because of it.

One VDC member, Mr Idea Newa said the committee relied on the 13 old houses, of which, only seven were operational. The houses accommodate some public servants and individuals, who pay a monthly rental of P85.

Mr Newa said the rentals were inadequate as they could not even use them to maintain the houses. 

He wished for a speedy resolution of the issue, adding that they needed a piece of land to venture into income generating projects such as a guest house or camp site. On other issues, residents complained about the bad state of the road from Mawana gate to Khwai, saying it was a threat to their lives. They also decried lack of electricity in the village. Ends