22 Aug 2022

There are currently 632 plots available for allocation at Gerald Estates in Francistown.

Speaking in Francistown during a press conference on residential land allocation on urban areas recently, Director of department of lands Mr Odirile Mabaila said the plots would be offered to applicants from other urban areas since the priority waiting list for Francistown upper income categories had been exhausted.

“Applicants whom we intend to offer plots in Francistown have been written letters and their names published in the ministry Facebook page,” he said, adding that the department would also extend publicity through other media and communications platforms.

Mr Mabaila said there were currently 420 plots in Selibe Phikwe, Mekoro Area which were ready for allocation and the department would be issuing provisional offers beginning September.

In addition, he said there were 172 plots which were at provisional offer stage and the formal letters would be issued in September. He added the such plots were part of 398 plots offered in in 2021 and remained due to non-acceptance of the offers.

He however said the department had since January 2021 offered 568 plots at Ghanzi township applicants and only 499 have been allocated as at July from two runs.

He said the department had  since August embarked on the third cycle and offered 65 of the remaining plots to the next batch of applicants on the waiting list.

Mr Mabaila said servicing about 2 300 new plots in the Ghanzi township was at design stage. He said there were no available plots for allocation in Sowa Town except land servicing of 202 plots for Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA) which was delayed by litigations.

On another note, he said a batch of 20 plots were provisionally offered to Lobatse applicants in July who were expected to have accepted offers by end of September, while in Jwaneng 26 were offered and remaining 7 plots to be offered by end of August.

He said in Kasane, the ministry was in the process of servicing Nnyngwe layout of 874 plots. 

For Gaborone, 167 plots were allocated over the last five years and 10 plots were provisionally allocated in July this year and those plots were realised through withdrawals either due to non-acceptance of provisional offers or failure to comply with development covenant.

“The government has acquired 5 000 hectares of land in the Kweneng tribal territory to augment land shortage in the city,” he said adding that planning of this area was at procurement stage.

He said there were other projects geared towards addressing residential land shortages. 

On other development, he said Segoditshane River Corridor Master Plan was at Final Draft Stage and mixed used developments had been proposed for about 223 blocks of plots. BOPA