17 Feb 2022

Tsabong Sub-council on Wednesday agreed to stop the allocation of ploughing fields that was to take place at Kokotsha yesterday, pending further consultation with communities.

Speaking during the sub-council session on Wednesday, Kokotsha’s Councillor Diteko Janie tabled a motion that sought to halt the allocation process.

His bone of contention was that from the 40 allocations to be done, only six were residents of Kokotsha.

The councillor said the majority of those who had been invited for ploughing field allocations at Kokotsha were not residents of the village, which somehow threated the land rights of the minority groups.   

Mr Janie highlighted that Kokotsha was a remote settlement with a minority group of people, most of whom were living below the poverty datum line. Thus, he called for Tsabong Sub-land Board to defer the allocations and embark on extensive consultations with the community, saying priority should be given to the residents of Kokotsha as they need the land to better their livelihoods.

Mr Janie stated that Kokotsha was an RADP settlement surrounded by ranches and farms which, left the village with little room for expansion.

Councilor Janie said in 2021 the council made a request for the land board to ensure that the piece of land to be allocated included Kokotsha natives as the first beneficiaries in majority numbers and thereafter give other citizens. He, however, said such did not materialise as citizens who originated from other villages emerged beneficiaries.

In response, Tsabong Sub-land Board secretary, Mr Mpho Keareng said there were 100 plots scheduled to be allocated in a period of three days.

He said the board had noted the objection and the concerns of the councillor and promised that they shall conduct thorough consultations with the community.

Further, they shall consult the Kgalagadi main land board in the next board sitting, where they shall discuss the matter, consulting relevant statutory instruments.

Mr Keareng said since Kokotsha was an RADP settlement, it was entitled to affirmative action, and that such would be taken into consideration after exploring the issue in broad strokes.  

“Since this is an objection, re tshwanelwa ke go ya kwa kgotleng ya Kokotsha pele mme morago re bo re ya ko Kgalagadi Main Land Board, re tlaa lebelela dikgang tsa bo affirmative action jalo jalo. Ka gore se ke tshutiso e e tlang ka moemedi wa morafe wa Kokotsha re tlaa ema pele ka dipeo tseo go reetsa mabaka a morafe,” he said.  

The councillor’s plea came after a delivery of speech by Tsabong Sub-council chairperson, Mr Ronald Baitsewe on Tuesday, who had said, “A total of 542 residential plots had been allocated at Maubelo,

Makopong and Draihoek as at December 2021. More residential allocations were ongoing at Maubelo, Maralaleng, Makopong and Draihoek and ploughing fields in Kokotsha during the February board sitting.

Maleshe residential allocations will also be made during the March board sitting,” he had said.

Cllr Baitsewe said Tsabong Sub- land Board maintained a waiting list of 15 714 applications, where 10 299 were residentials while 5 415 were ploughing field applications.

He said the sub-land board commenced the vetting process in order to help identify the true picture of land demand within its jurisdiction. Mr Baitsewe said preparations process of availing land was ongoing at Omaweneno, Bogogobo, Gakhibana, Kolonkwaneng, Kisa, Kokotsha, Khuis, Rappelspan, Vaalhoek and Struizendam, where base maps were at layout design stages.

He stated that the sub-land board was in the process of resuscitating old layouts at Bokspits and Middlepits, which would entail updating the base maps and redesigning the layouts. In Tsabong and Werda the process of land acquisition commenced in January with village leadership meetings over identifying growth points.

“Identification of ploughing fields owners and land acquisition process will then follow.

The base maps will be prepared during the second quarter of 2022/23. As for ploughing fields, more designs and demarcations will be made in Werda, Maleshe and Makopong in 2022, where land has been identified for ploughing field use,” he said.

Meanwhile, all councillors nodded to Councillor Janie’s motion. ENDS