23 Oct 2013

The Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry has called on land authorities to be alive to the changing needs brought about by factors such as industrialisation in Botswana.

Giving a keynote address at the 16th biennial conference of the Botswana Association of Tribal Land Authorities (BATLA), Mr Keletso Rakhudu said a number of countries had gone through the industrialisation phase and Botswana was no exception.

“Industrialisation has brought with it a number of challenges that have had an impact on land resource. For instance, it has led to an increase in population growth, especially in urban and semi-urban areas,” he said.

He indicated that industries such as manufacturing and agriculture needed to be supported by reviewing existing land policies and land management strategies. Mr Rakhudu further said government continued to develop and implement several based strategies to uplift the economic status of Batswana.

“I am informed that the Ministry of Lands and Housing is implementing a notable project called Land Administration Procedures Capacity and Systems (LAPCAS),” he noted. He said after the successful implementation of the project, land administration would be made easy, transparent and predictable as it would be easy to provide the land information that the society needs.

The assistant minister further said if land information was readily available, investors would have more confidence on land administration systems in Botswana. “Another initiative that has been introduced is the Presidential Housing Appeal whose objective is to support those who are disadvantaged by providing shelter to them,” said Mr Rakhudu.

He encouraged land authorities to support such initiatives by developing policies that will enable government to assist those concerned without having to subject them to long land allocation processes.

The conference brought together tribal land authorities and other key stakeholders involved in land. It aimed to explore emerging challenges of land management in Botswana and give participants an opportunity to share issues of common interests, expectations, experiences and ideas of how best to manage land as a resource on behalf of Batswana. ENDS