17 Mar 2022

 The outcry about long waiting periods and delayed land allocation will be a thing of the past as the Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services strives to fast tracking the exercise. 

In response to a question answered in Parliament recently, Minister Kefentse Mzwinila said that the ministry was looking into reducing the waiting period for plot allocation to less than five years. 

Such, he said would only be achieved through cooperation including cordial working relationship by both parties in the land delivery process as well as title holders of land earmarked for acquisition so that layouts can be developed to facilitate allocation of plots for residential, commercial and civic use. 

He had also indicated that the ministry was currently working towards addressing some of the identified delays to expedite land allocation to Batswana. 

Again, he said allocation of un-serviced land was also approved and the ministry, through all landboards, immediately implemented the decision to expedite land allocation of un-serviced plots to meet the demand for residential and business plots. 

He also indicated that the ministry was also dealing with delays in land acquisition by looking into different compensation models with the view to have partnership with land owners. 

He was also hopeful that the introduction of other models of compensation would address Batswana’s concerns and shorten the land acquisition process which would in turn avail land for allocation to Batswana within a short period of time. 

Responding to legislators’ comments after the debate on the ministry’s budget estimates for the 2022/2023 financial year on March 16, Minister Kefentse Mzwinila acknowledged that the ministry was faced with serious problem of delayed land allocation, but was working round the clock to address the situation. 

Mr Mzwinila also informed MPs that landboards had been instructed to improve their turnaround times so that plot transfers were done within a month or two. 

Furthermore, he explained that in spite of the delay in land allocations, beneficiaries of the deceased applicants could not inherit the plot applications and therefore were compelled to make their own new applications. 

“Plot application did not guarantee that the applicant would be allocated land. However, in cases where the land board has already confirmed that the applicant will be allocated land, then the deceased applicant’s beneficiaries may be allocated land,” he said. 

Mr Mzwinila also indicated that every citizen was eligible for allocation of a residential plot on both state and tribal land by a land authority regardless of whether they had previously acquired land through other legitimate means either purchasing or inheritance.

He said those who were affected by the policy prior to amendment, however would not benefit because at the time they were allocated land there was no such policy. 

On shortage of water in some parts of the country, Mr Mzwinila explained that the bulk of the ministry’s budget was geared towards addressing the anomaly.

“Due to insufficient funds, the ministry took the initiative to supply water to gazetted areas as opposed to un-gazetted settlements.

The ministry desires to supply potable water to every part of the country but the main challenge is the insufficient budget,” he added.

Regarding high water bills, he said the ministry introduced the smart metre project which was still being piloted at Nanogang Junior Secondary School and yet to be extended to cover the Village area.

“Results from this pilot project will enable us to make an informed decision whether to extend it to other parts of the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, legislators commended the minister for the successful delivery of water supply projects to areas that were faced with acute shortage. 

However, they urged him to replace old galvanized pipes in the villages to address the problem of pipe bursting and leakages which they linked to high water bills. MPs also requested for connection of sewage lines. 

On delayed land allocation across all land boards in the country, they implored the minister to work together with other stakeholders to lessen the number of years it took for one to be allocated land. 

They argued that delay in land allocation had led to mushrooming of squatters in some areas. 

Nevertheless, Parliament approved budget estimates comprising over P941 million for the recurrent budget and over P5 billion to cover the ministry’s development budget in the next financial year. BOPA