15 Jul 2020

Councillors in Mogoditshane/Thamaga intend to ask the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila, to address the sub-council about land issues.

In a recent sub-council meeting, councillors had requested Mogoditshane Sub-land Board secretary, Ms Joyce Wantlo, to address them on land challenges.

However, they said the secretary failed to address their concerns about delayed residential plot allocations that dated back to 1993 when the sub-land board was established.   

Therefore, they wanted Minister Mzwinila to address land crisis in the sub-district at a special meeting that the chairperson would arrange.

Councillors decried delayed land allocation in Mogoditshane and other areas such as Ledumadumane where  some families surrendered their ploughing fields to pave way for developments.

Councillors called for compensation based on  field sizes where the owner could either opt for a number of residential plots or one business plot with a reduced number of residential plots.

They discouraged cash as form of  compensation.

Some councillors argued that the compensation in kind model should apply across the whole sub-district and not only in Mogoditshane.

Ledumadumane’s councillor, Mr Otlaadisa Kgwatalala, said some residents in Ledumadumane who surrendered their ploughing fields had not yet been allocated plots although a presidential directive to that effect had long been issued.  

He urged the sub-land board to cooperate with councillors in order to resolve some petinent land issues in Mogoditshane.

Kumakwane’s councillor, Ms Winnie Cassim, said the last allocation in Kumakwane was 14 years ago.  

She said she did not agree with the physical planning report that suggested that most of Kumakwane expansion area was sitting on a high water table.  

She further questioned why Thamaga Sub-land Board was not allocating plots in areas where compensation disputes had long been settled.

Responding to councillors’ concerns, Ms  Wantlo said issues of Mogoditshane Sub-land Board needed to be addressed holistically.  

She said councillors should be aware that the sub-land board was in the Gaborone expansion area, adding that priority was also given to residents of Morope after the area was declared a village.

She also explained that while the sub-land board was dealing with land acquisition, it also had to deal with compensation as well as dispute resolution.

She said the waiting list stood at 140 000.

On the issue of compensation in kind model, Ms Wantlo said the model was modified in March 2019.  

Therefore, Kweneng Land Board  had instituted consultation concerning implementation of the in-kind compensation model.  

The outcome of the consultations would therefore inform the land board on the appropriate course of action.  ENDS