16 Sep 2020

Tawana Land Board is experiencing challenges in land administration and some members of the public are increasing the problem by not following procedures, says land board secretary, Ms Neo Mothobi.

Addressing the North West District Council recently, Ms Mothobi said squatting was a serious challenge and that the land board was forced to negotiate with people who decided to use the land without authority. She urged councillors to advise members of the public to get all necessary documents to use the land.

Squatting, she said, affected land allocation, noting that the Polokabatho area could not be allocated due to infiltration by squatters.

She also expressed concern about those who failed to develop their plots, saying the failure to develop plots affected the village growth and sustainability.

Ms Mothobi also noted that people were lagging behind in registering their land despite the introduction of the land registration exercise commonly referred to as Land Administration Procedures Capacity and Systems (LAPCAS) in the district in 2015.

Ms Mothobi added that the exercise was not successful. She noted that over 69 000 plots were identified and surveyed and that over 53 000 of the plots had been claimed by their owners through the exercise. In addition, she said the land board had adjudicated over 40 000 plots.

Ms Mothobi also informed councillors that the waiting list for residential plots stood at over 69 000.

 She said the land board, in collaboration with tribal administration structures at the village level, had identified land for residential and ploughing fields.

The secretary also acknowledged delays in land allocation, but explained that land allocation was guided by the land policy which provided that all plots be planned before allocation.

The planning process, she said, took time and that as a result, plots had not been available at the pace desired by members of the public.

Ms Mothobi revealed that some applicants had been waiting for plots for more than 10 years and pleaded for support from councillors to educate people about the planning process which was undertaken by the planning authority.

She appreciated that the council had prepared village development plans for Maun, Gumare and Shakawe.

In other villages, she said the council provided guidance through physical planners, adding that they also prepared layout plans to direct utilisation.

 She noted that the council had prepared detailed layout plans for over 25 000 plots since 2015, but said most of the plots were not yet allocated.

Ms Mothobi explained that the delay was caused by the fact that the district had to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for all the villages.

She noted that the local council sourced funds during the 2018/19 financial year and prepared SEA for some villages such as Seronga and Gumare. She said the plots would be allocated during the 2020/21 financial year.

To augment council efforts, she said the land board also sourced funds for preparation of SEA for the second batch of villages.

 “This was a collaboration effort of the two institutions in order to facilitate district development, and it is a commendable effort,” she added.

The efforts, she said, would enable the land board to allocate land in Maun, Matlapana, Seronga and Gumare during the current financial year while new plots would be surveyed at Sexaxa, Maun, Matsaudi, Beetsha, Gudingwa, Nkarange, Mokgacha  and Chanoga.

Ms Mothobi also noted that some plots at Matlapana, Toteng, Nxauxau, Tsodilo, Gumare and Shakawe had been surveyed and were awaiting approval by the director of surveys and mapping. ENDS