30 May 2021

Tsabong Sub-district Council chairperson, Mr Ronald Baitsewe has called for the reassessment of progress and resetting targets to achieve economic development in the face of a challenging financial situation.

Speaking during the Tsabong Sub-council virtual meeting on Tuesday, Mr Baitsewe said the COVID-19 pandemic required the implementation of sound problem-solving strategies to drive the district development agenda. 

He said it was pertinent to exercise financial prudence as the council had an approved budget of P87.8 million in the 2021/2022 financial year as opposed to the initial budget of P97.3 million.

The reduction, he said, was a drawback. He noted that there were no maintenance funds for streetlights and roads, and that available funds would not be able to cover operational expenses. He called for all to brace themselves for the financial challenges that lied ahead. 

He said the status quo did not warrant the business as usual mentality hence the need to reset and transform thinking to move forward.

Mr Baitsewe highlighted that land was a critical asset in economic development and he commended Tsabong Sub Land Board for the recent allocations in the district. 

He noted that 98 people had been allocated land out of 900 for the 2021/22 financial year. He also noted that the layout demarcation for Omaweneno, Maralaleng and Draaihoek had been completed and that allocations were expected to be completed before the end of 2021.

He said ploughing fields demarcations were expected to start in June. 

 Meanwhile, land base maps for Kolonkwaneng, Bogogobo, Khuis, Khawa, Gakhibane, Rappelspan, Vaalhoek and Struizendam have been completed and submitted for layout designing.

Mr Baitsewe expressed concern that land owners did not abide accordingly as the sub land board was owed over P6 million in lease rentals, and that only P22 000 was collected. 

He said it affected service delivery hence the need for councillors to encourage debtors to pay in order to speed up land service delivery.

Furthermore, the sub-council chairperson said the Tsabong Sub-land Board was embarking on a data cleansing mission to verify and beef up information in order to prepare to issue land titles. 

He called for cooperation from file owners who would be contacted to provide any missing information in their files. 

Such information, he said, included certified omang copies, marriage certificates and affidavits of birth forms.   

Responding to the speech, councillors called for speedy land allocations. They said the land board should respond to those who had been residing in some localities for years but did not have certificates.

Tsabong East councillor, Mr Peter Megano appreciated the plot layout progress.He decried that time was taken to release leases for those who had applied which slowed developments. 

He appreciated the sub land board for striving to push the allocation backlog in some villages. He said it had been a long time since plot allocations were done in Tsabong, adding that the village was a major service centre in the distric.

Khawa councillor, Mr Piet Bok suggested that the land board should refocus and strive to allocate land to small stock holdings for the reason that the Tsabong Multispecies Abattoir was being constructed. 

He said land use planning and allocation should consider the new development to prop up the much-needed value chains in a timely manner. ends