09 Oct 2013

The Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe has said amendments in the customary court bill have been passed by Parliament and adopted into law.

He said changes in the amended customary court law included having one Customary Court of Appeal that will be presided over by the Customary Court of Appeal president. He said the Court of Appeal president will be appointed by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.

He explained that the Court of Appeal would have divisions that will focus on different customary court cases or issues. Vice President Kedikilwe, who is also Member of Parliament for Mmadinare said this when addressing a kgotla meeting in Mogapi on October 8.

He also pointed out that under the Customary Court Law, Ntlo Ya Dikgosi made resolutions that dikgosi be given authority to issue warrants of arrest instead of having to go through the district commissioners for approval as had been the norm.

He said under the new law, customary courts had been given authority to fine wrong-doers amounts up to P100 instead of P50 while some courts have been authorised to fine people moneys ranging from P500 up to P1 000.

He also noted that the new Customary Court Law also recognised court bailiffs and outlined the officers’ obligations and the procedures they ought to adhere to. On other issues, Vice President Kedikilwe called on village leadership such as dikgosi, village development committees (VDC), councillors as well as Members of Parliament  to encourage people to come up with ideas to start viable projects that would create employment and sustain peoples’ lives.

He said Batswana should refrain from the habit of depending on government for everything. He said Batswana should also find ways to finance such projects by requesting for financial assistance from banks.

For instance, he said due to shortage of tractors used in assisting farmers under the ISPAAD programme, people should group themselves and request for funding from banks to purchase tractors and rent them out to plough peoples fields.

For his part, Mogapi Deputy Tribal Authority, Mr  Ishmael Ditsele expressed concern that the Tribal Administration section under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was left behind in developments and financial assistance.

He said customary courts run short of stationery as well as cleaning materials and equipment. Furthermore, he said when officers under Tribal Administration retired from the civil service, the government took long to fill up the posts.

Mr Ditsele acknowledged the government for providing the village with fresh water from Lotsane Dam though the village experiences water shortage now and then. He said the villagers do not drink salty water like previously.

He also requested that the government should consider providing the village with a bigger water reservoir to store enough water to satisfy the village demand.

He also noted that cluster fencing was in the process of taking place at village fields.  Meanwhile, the VDC Chairman, Mr Gabatsoswe Baipidi congratulated government for introducing the poverty eradication programmes.

He indicated that people in the village have started bee-keeping projects, tuck-shops, vegetable gardens as well as a hair salon among other projects. He also requested government to consider setting up a water drainage system in the village to direct water from hills during the rainy season. Ends