05 Sep 2013

The Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr Lebonaamang Mokalake has raised concerns about the rate at which individuals are selling their land in the Kweneng District.

Addressing residents of Lentsweletau on September 2, Mr Mokalake bemoaned the rate at which land was being sold by individuals in Kweneng, especially in the villages of Lentsweletau and Kopong.  

He urged Batswana to desist from selling their land, saying land should be treasured as it was a precious commodity that did not increase. The minister also dismissed suggestions that people with money often tricked individuals who found themselves cash strapped into selling them land. 

Instead, said Mr Mokalake, the blame lied with the land owners as they attracted potential buyers by advertising their plots for sale. “It is wrong to blame individuals for buying plots which they came to know about through advertising. Like other Batswana everyone is entitled to respond to advertised items,” the minister said.

He challenged community leaders to devise strategies to curb the rampant selling of land.  Mr Mokalake advised that alternative methods would be through setting fixed dates on when such transfers could be done, as opposed to the current situation where anyone can transfer land as and when they wish.

However, he expressed optimism that the introduction of the Land Administration Procedures, Capacity and Systems (LAPCAS) exercise would help ease plot identification and ensure monitoring of activities around individual plots.

When commenting on the minister’s speech, Mr Moilwa Segajane called on government to restore the powers of dikgosi so they can control land issues.

Another resident, Mr Lobby Makgasane said government allowed the situation to deteriorate by taking too long to address it. 

He also called for action before the situation worsens.  Meanwhile, Kgosi Oletile Makgasane of Lentsweletau expressed concern that government was taking too long to deliver development projects that were earmarked for the area. 

Kgosi Makgasane said they were long promised that Motswakhumo Junior Secondary School would be upgraded into a Unified Secondary, but now the project has been shelved. 

For his part, Lentsweletau Village Development Committee Chairperson (VDC), Mr Rodgers Kgatitswe commended government for decentralising services by establishing a Service Centre in Lentsweletau. ENDS