18 Feb 2020

Maun Sub-land Board will allocate at least 4000 plots in Maun and surrounding areas during the next financial year from a 37 000 waiting list.

Speaking during a media conference recently, Tawana Land Board Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Dube said out of the close to 4 000 plots to be allocated, about 13 plots were in Maun,  while about 900 were at Matlapana and 3 000 at Sexaxa village, all of which fall under the Maun Sub-land Board.

He said 13 077 were at Sehithwa Sub-land Board, 545 at Nokaneng Sub-land Board, 7 068 at Gumare Sub-land Board, 6 468 at Shakawe Sub-land Board and 3 129 were at Seronga Sub-land Board.

Mr Dube noted that the challenges of shortage of land and lack of funds continued to hamper plot allocations in Maun, noting that as a result, Tawana Land Board had not been able to allocate plots in the past five years.

He said the land board required funds to acquire land for ploughing fields and for the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for settlements planning areas.

He said only inheritance and court directives plots were allocated during the five-year period, adding however that they hoped to reduce the backlog after vetting the waiting list to determine applicants who owned plots elsewhere, to apply the one person one plot policy.

Further, Mr Dube said the land board was grappling with challenges of illegal occupants in Maun, with 195 illegal occupants recorded at Disaneng, Sedie, Botshabelo, Boseja and Moeti wards.

He appealed to squatters to refrain from the act, which he said had dire consequences, revealing that an illegal occupants assessment was ongoing to determine the action to be taken against the squatters.

He said action against squatters, could include demolitions.

Mr Dube said some people were failing to comply in registration of plots as per the Land Administration Procedures, Capacity and Systems (LAPCAS), which he lamented would affect land processes such as transfers, inheritance, subdivisions and consolidations.

He said the land board had only registered 53 463 plots out of a possible 69 456.

Meanwhile, he said the Tawana Land Board was working with the Department of Lands to address the Mababe case, where plot allocation had been on hold because the area is state land. Mr Dube said discussions were at an advanced stage and hoped they would be finalised soon.

He said plot allocations at Khwai village were frozen since 2010, after realisation that it was a low lying area prone to flooding, adding that a study would be carried out to inform the Tawana Land Board on a way forward. ENDs