15 Dec 2019

Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila says his ministry is not aware of the impasse regarding acquisition of land by government in D’Kar settlement.

Mr Mzwinila said D’Kar was located within a privately (freehold) owned land by the Reformed Church in Botswana.

The minister said according to the Housing and Population Census of 2011, the settlement was inhabited by approximately 1 200 people.

He said his ministry supported the ongoing consultations between the land owners and the local authorities on the issues of acquisition of land.

“I have been informed that Ghanzi District Council through the district leadership has over the years been consulting and negotiating with the church council with the view of acquiring the farm and converting it to tribal land so that people could be allocated plots in the area,” Mr Mzwinila said.

He admitted that the negotiations had prolonged and had not yet borne any meaningful outcomes.

Mr Mzwinila had also explained that since the D’Kar residents did not have a title deed to the land (certificates of ownership of plots), they did not benefit from services and programmes that required a land title.

“I understand the church gives the residents permission to build without proper and formal land transactions.

It has since been established from the church that they do not see it necessary to give individual titles as they are considered members of the congregation,” said Mr Mzwinila.

Mr Mzwinila also added that he was aware of infrastructure developments like water which were not provided to D’Kar settlement because it was on freehold land.

He said the government was constrained in providing infrastructure development until the land had been acquired from the church.

He said the primary school and health facility were constructed on the portion of land that was acquired from the church, hence provision of water by Water Utilities Corporation to the facilities from a borehole that was drilled within the school premises.

He also said compulsory acquisition was exercised where government had exhausted all channels of negotiations.

In the case of D’Kar, Minister Mzwinila said his ministry had not been advised to compulsorily acquire the land or requested to find an alternative land.

Ghanzi North Member of Parliament, Mr John Thiite had asked the minister if he was aware of the impasse between the D’Kar settlement land owners, the community and government.

Mr Thiite also wanted to establish the position of the ministry in terms of consultations over taking the land from the church.  

He also asked if the minister was aware that the D’Kar community did not benefit from most government programmes due to the impasse.

The MP also asked if the minister was aware that government developments in terms of infrastructure with the exception of education and health facilities failed to reach the D’Kar communities due to the land impasse.

He also wanted to know why government could not exercise its powers and take over the land by compensating the owners or looking for alternative land. Ends