12 Oct 2022

Member of Parliament for Tonota, Mr Pono Moatlhodi has cautioned residents of Foley against squatting.

Addressing a kgotla meeting at the village Monday,  Mr Moatlhodi said it had come to his attention that some people were illegally occupying land in the village, urging them  to vacate.

“Squatting is totally not allowed in Botswana because it is against the land policy,” said Mr Moatlhodi who also spoke strongly against people who sell their residential plots after being allocated.

He warned government would not hesitate to demolish illegal residences. 

He also said no one would be allocated a second residential plot on tribal land. The MP, who is also the National Assembly Deputy Speaker spoke against the selling of land.

He advised Tonota Sub-land Board to speed up allocation of residential and fields plots, saying some squatting happened because people lost patience with the land boards.

He also requested the board to avail land to Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) to build houses for rentals.

Soon, he said a coal mine would be opened near Foley, which would require accommodation for its workers, saying such was also an investment opportunity worth exploiting.

Mr Moatlhodi said the mine would help in employment creation for the residents.

He said upgrading of the A1 Road into a dual carriage from Tonota to Palapye would also help in employment creation.

On other issues, Mr Moatlhodi challenged the residents to utilise early rains to plough, saying government would once more distribute seeds for free.

He expressed disappointment at farmers who plough their fields only to leave crops for animals to destroy.

He told the residents that Tonota Sub-district Council was among those that would be upgraded into a fully-fledged district.

He also briefed residents on the upgrading, to bitumen standard, of Semotswane-Mandunyane road, saying Borolong-Chadibe-Mathangwane gravel road upgrading was still on the pipeline.

On other issues, Mr Moatlhodi appealed to the residents to play parental role in the children’s education.

He said Itireleng Foley Primary School was one of the primary schools that could do better in the Standard Seven examinations,  provided parents supported teachers.

For welcome remarks, Kgosi Olebile Khumo of Foley said it took long for Tonota Sub-land Board to allocate residential plots in the village.

He said land for residential plots was readily available and wondered why it was taking long for the board to allocate residential plots.

Kgosi Khumo opined that such delay may have contributed to squatting in Foley West, adding that BHC had also shown interest in building houses for people who would be employed at the envisaged coal mine near the village.

Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Keolatotse said the villagers were last allocated residential plots in 2015.

She decried lack of accommodation at Itireleng Foley Primary School, saying four teachers recently posted to the school did not have accommodation.

She said Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) was taking long to connect water to the village.

She also requested for the maintenance of the local health post and the installation of tower lights in the village to reduce crime.

Mr Keolatotse also requested government to build an administration block at the local primary school and thanked government for the construction of a kitchen at the school.