29 Apr 2021

Okavango Member of Parliament, Mr Kenny Kapinga has raised a concern over the growing trend of selling land in the area especially by youth.

In a meeting with the leadership of some of the Okavango villages and Shakawe Sub-land Board members, Mr Kapinga said it was worrisome that locals continued to sell land to outsiders instead of finding ways of benefiting from such land without selling.

“Land is a valuable commodity, land is wealth on its own if utilised wisely, so instead of selling it, I encourage people of Okavango to find ways or come up with initiatives that can beneficial,” he said.

He said before selling, people should also consider that the future generation would need that legacy and it would not look good when the land is in foreign hands.

Still on the issue, Mr Kapinga expressed dissatisfaction with the Shakawe Sub-land Board, land allocation turnaround time, noting that people had been on the waiting list for a long time now.

He said Shakawe was growing fast in terms of infrastructural developments and population, hence the need to speed up land allocation.

“The demand of rented houses in Shakawe is soaring. The demand for office space is also high, people need land to meet all these,” said the MP.

Mr Kapinga also highlighted that during allocation, preference should be given to people of Okavango, especially for business plots.

The MP pleaded with landboard staff to desist from corruption as they were the custodians of a valuable commodity being land.

Meanwhile, Kgosi Botolamang Gaolathwe of Gani said youth needed intensive education on the importance of owning land than selling it.

He said as leadership in Okavango, they had the responsibility of educating young people on the issue.

For his part, Kgosi Osenotse Koloi of Samochima pleaded with the authorities to lift the suspension of in-fills, noting that there was abundant unoccupied spaces in the village that could be allocated to applicants.

He said Samochima people had not been allocated residential plots in a long time.

Shakawe Sub-land Board chairperson Mr Ryder Shoma said they were governed by policies, adding that in-fills were suspended in 2010 and the focus was now on layout plots.

He said Shakawe had the highest number of 4 466 people on waiting list for residential plots, with 629 for ploughing fields. Ends