10 Apr 2023

Despite introducing some positive changes, a number of concerns have been raised regarding the Transfer Duty Act of 2019, which raised a need for that piece of legislation to be amended.

Presenting the proposed Transfer Duty Amendment Bill in Parliament recently, the Minister of Finance, Ms Peggy Serame said the need to pay transfer duty on customary land grant and the requirement for registration of tribal land grants were some of the concerns raised.

She said that created delays and backlogs in as far as transfer of tribal land was concerned, thus leading to adverse consequences for Batswana, she said.

“Other issues of concern include the requirement to provide valuation reports for all transactions irrespective of the exemption status of the beneficiaries or nature of property being transferred, such as inheritance, transfers to first time home owners and transfers to former spouses following div  P2 million, the excess should be taxed at 15 per cent,” she said.

Ms Serame also proposed that the Act should allow the Commissioner General to use local council valuations. In their contributions, legislators hailed Ms Serame for coming up with the amendment proposals, indicating that it was what Batswana had long called for.

Vice President, Mr Slumber Tsogwane indicated that the move would help Botswana entice foreign investment and ultimately compete with other countries. 

The current law, he said had served its purpose and that there was a need to review it.

“Our intention is not to sell land to foreigners, but the law will ensure that we only sell to serious ones,” he said.

The Member of Parliament for Mahalapye East, Mr Yandani Boko said that although the amendment was welcome, he was hoping for the proposals to allow children to inherit applications of their parents in the instance they pass on before being allocated land.

The Palapye legislator, Mr Onneetse Ramogapi said that although the proposals were good, he was sceptical about the Act allowing valuation reports from councils.

Also contributing to the debate, the MP for Gabane-Mankgodi, who is also the Minister of Defence and Security, Mr Kagiso Mmusi supported the move to use council valuation reports, saying that it would save ordinary Batswana from the exorbitant fees charged by private land valuers.ENDS