28 Jul 2022

As part of efforts to expand Balete tribal land territory, Malete Land Board intends to review some land uses in the Ramotswa Development Plan with the view to zone them into residential uses.

Land board chairperson, Ms Onneetse Malope, announced this during a media session Wednesday.

She said the district had also identified Mojadife in Mogobane as the new area for village growth. 

She said consultations and assessment were ongoing to acquire land for purposes of village expansion.

“200 hectares have been identified to be acquired this financial year for possible allocation in the year 2023/24,”she added. 

Ms Malope said the land board allocated 971 residential plots in the 2021/22 financial year.

She noted that the target for this financial year was 1 877 and 444 residential plots had been allocated since April up to date, adding preparations were ongoing to allocate around 1 400 residential plots by mid-August.

She said the land board was in constant engagement with stakeholders to facilitate production of layouts so as to increase the annual allocation budget. 

Ms Malope said as at July this year, over 24 000 people were on the waiting list in Ramotswa, Taung, Mogobane and Otse.

“We are currently allocating applicants who applied around September 2015. Vetting of the waiting list is continuing so as to reject those with plots allocated directly by land boards,” she added.Ms Malope said the Tribal Land Act, which came into effect in April, was of great benefit to Batswana as land boards were now required to consult tribal administration and district councils in formulation of policies. 

She said Malete Land Board was surrounded by free hold farms, hence minimising the area of allocation.

“This is exacerbated by the fact that majority of areas is covered by black cotton soil and high water table making such areas inhabitable or costly to develop for any ordinary Motswana,” she said.

She said part of the challenges the land board faced was the illegal occupation of land and lease arrears. 

She said the number of illegal squatters was increasing at an alarming rate. 

Ms Malope said the land board was owed around P3.5 million in lease rental arrears.

For his part Malete Land Board deputy chairperson, Mr Kgotso Mathe, said vetting of the waiting list was a welcome development as it aligned their efforts to the National Land Policy of 2019.

He said the illegal occupation of land was reversing their planning as some people were illegally occupying grazing land.

Regarding the Monganakodu water seepage issue in Taung, Mr Mathe said the district leadership would make a pronouncement on the way forward as soon as the report was readily available.

He said prior to the geotechnical study in Monganakodu in 2013, recommendations were made as early as 2011 after complaints of possible seepage in the area.

Acting board secretary, Mr Vincent Sekano  said Monganakodu plots were first allocated around 2004 with the last allocation done in 2007. 

He said upon allocations, allotees flooded the land board with complaints about seepage.

“That was when a consultations with the district use land planning unit were undertaken of which one of the recommendations was the 2013 geotechnical study.

Some were relocated and those in areas where the seepage was not reported remained behind until the situation worsened recently. But we are working collaboratively with the district leadership,” Mr Sekano added. ENDS