16 Jun 2022

All tribal land owners will now be required to convert their grant certificates to the new one that is the equivalent of a title deed. Chobe Deputy Land Board Secretary, Mr David Setimela, said this at a stakeholder Workshop here Wednesday. 

He said the Re-enacted Land Act of 2018, which became operational on April 20 this year, required that all persons, who were already in occupation of land granted under the repealed Land Act of 1968, and those allocated by Dikgosi, prior to establishment of land boards, must apply for the regularisation of their grants. He explained plot owners could go to the nearest land board, with all the required documents, to be facilitated, as soon as that land board was ready to roll out the process. 

However, he noted that Chobe Land Board was already assisting people in that regard. 

Mr Setimela said plot owners should submit application for customary land rights, application for memorandum of lease agreement, ID copy of the applicant, affidavit of birth and marital status form, proof of marriage regime and original certificate or lease for plots already allocated. He said that those who already had title did not need to re-register. 

Mr Setimela added that the Registrar of Deeds would not transfer any mortgaged land or assent to cession of a mortgaged lease until the bond had been cancelled or lease released from operation of bond. Therefore those whose properties were bonded would need to wait until the bond was paid up. The Board Secretary, Mr Kealeboga Kemoreile emphasised the importance of registering plots again, saying the process was different from the LAPCAS registration, because the full names of the plot owner and marital regime were required for the new one. 

The District Commissioner, Ms Sekgabo Makgosa explained that the affidavit of birth and marital status could be done by any commissioner of oaths such as the police, dikgosi and district commissioners. 

She indicated that proof of marital regime could only be collected at the deeds offices in Gaborone and Francistown. She observed that while district commissioners informed all couples to collect them from those offices during marriage solemnisation, most still came back to district commissioners’ offices. 

Appreciating government efforts in coming up with the new act, Chobe Land board chairperson, Mr Johane Chenjekwa said The new act would allow all plot owners to approach financiers for the development of their land, using it as collateral. 

He added the other advantage of the new Act, was that it allowed for on-line transactions. 

Mr Chenjekwa further said the act gave Batswana the right of first refusal with regard to purchase of land, as plot owners intending to sell to non-citizens would be expected to advertise first. 

For security reasons, all the 12 land boards and 41 sub-land boards in the country would not produce deeds, but that only Gaborone and Francistown deeds offices would do that, he said. BOPA