22 Nov 2020

Jwaneng/Mabutsane Member of Parliament, Mr Mephato Reatile has tabled a motion pushing for allocation of un-serviced land to address the long waiting periods Batswana face before allocation of serviced land.

Tabling the motion before Parliament on November 20, Mr Reatile said the motion advocated for the allocation of un-serviced land to ensure that people did not miss out on the financial opportunities recently introduced by Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and other institutions.

 He said the revised Botswana Land Policy had failed to remedy the land allocation backlog, hence the need for Parliament to consider relaxing the requirements by land authorities on allocation of un-serviced land.

 He said it was regrettable that there was a backlog in land allocation despite the country’s small population.

Mr Reatile indicated that there had long been a public outcry on land allocation delay, which lead to the government passing the Land Policy in 2015, revised in 2019, and amended the Tribal Land Act in 2018, which was yet to be operational.

“It is heartbreaking that Batswana are made to wait for long periods to be allocated land despite the country boasting vast quantities of freehold land,” he said.

He further expressed skepticism on the outcomes of the Land Administration Procedures Capacity and System (LAPCAS) in addressing the issue of long waiting lists.

The introduction of the LAPCAS system, he said did not address the delays in land allocation as the waiting list database at many land boards across the country had staggering rates particularly around the Greater Gaborone area.

However, Nata/Gweta MP Mr Polson Majaga called for the motion to be amended as the government was already in the process of implementing some of the key components elucidated in the motion.

He said the government was already relaxing some requirements, citing the options to apply for un-serviced land. “The motion should rather request for the expedition of the relaxation process,” he said.

Thus he said the motion should request Parliament to resolve as a matter of urgency expediting relaxing the requirements by land authorities for allocating land.

In response to the motion, the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila stated that plans were already at an advanced stage to implement exactly what the motion sought to address.

 He said the government had decided to engage the private sector through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to service land on its behalf since the government could not raise the P94 billion required to service land before allocation.

He said the approval of the PPP Strategy in land servicing and housing development was intended to accelerate the pace of providing access to serviced land and housing by the private sector.

Minister Mzwinila indicated that the ministry was currently in consultation with relevant stakeholders on the proposal of classifying land applicants on the preference of full serviced land, minimal serviced land or un-serviced land.

“Applicants could in the near future be expected to state whether they prefer to be allocated, serviced, minimal serviced or un-serviced land,” he said.

He said the motion was redundant as it sought to address some of the LAPCAS programme aspects which had components that helped the government attain efficient land management and administration.

Mr Mzwinila stated that LAPCAS had yielded positive results as it reduced the waiting list from 1.3 million to 600 000 country-wide since its inception. 

ends