21 Oct 2013

Residents of Ledumadumane who gave away their ploughing land to government for the expansion of the greater Gaborone area have demanded residential land for their children.

The residents said this at a kgotla meeting addressed by Mogoditshane MP, Mr Patrick Masimolole at Ledumadumane recently. Residents told their MP that they had agreed with government to give their children residential plots as part of compensation and the fact that their children had nowhere to go.

Residents explained that they had lost patience over the stalling compensation process. Again, this had led to affected families overcrowding in one place and children becoming adults while awaiting land allocation negotiations to be finalised.

The residents also complained that some people had turned their village into a dump site. They said people threw garbage and rubble in the village and burrow pits had become an eyesore. They said all these posed a health hazard to their children and domestic animals.

Residents also demanded internal roads and water as well. VDC chairman for Ledumadumane, Mr Mothusi Kgomotso said government should consider connecting water in planning areas before allocating residential plots.

For his part, the area councillor, Mr Phagenyana Phage explained that the relocation of Ledumadumane started as early as 1992 when government demanded 5549 hectares (ha) of land for the Greater Gaborone expansion project. That, he said, was how Ledumadumane was affected.

The second stage was when the Bakwena chieftaincy agreed to give government 249 ha of land at Gaphatshwa for the affected residents who had to pave way for the new developments. He explained the matter at hand only concerned about 10 households that had not been allocated land because the land-board was still trying to source funds to compensate them for their ploughing fields.

However, the greatest issue for Ledumadumane residents was for the land board to allocate residential plots to their children. He said they had resolved to take the matter further with the involvement of Kgosi  Kgari Sechele III, office of the district commissioner as well as council authorities.

Responding to residents, chairman of Mogoditshane Sub-landboard, Mr Kebalepile Montshiwa said Kweneng Land Board had agreed to reserve about 1 000 plots for children of the affected families in Ledumadumane. He said technicians were working on incorporating the said plots in the layout.

Water Utilities Corporation representative, Mr Kevin Mosothwane explained that his organisation had not done the layout for water connections as they were awaiting other developments to be carried out in the area.

MP Masimolole explained that it was not a constitutional right to allocate land to children of the affected families, but government was doing that out of botho.  He however urged Mogoditshane Sub-Land Board to make sure people did not dump garbage in Ledumadumane and also to get rid of the burrow pits in the area. ENDS