23 May 2023

Land boards across the country allocated over 54 000 residential and commercial plots against the set target of 100 000 during the just ended financial year.

Updating the media on  land boards’ performance in Francistown yesterday, Botswana Association of Tribal Land Authorities (BATLA) president Mr Johane Chenjekwa said the achievement was commendable given the fact that land was not readily available for allocation.

Mr Chenjekwa, who is also chairperson of Chobe Land Board, said all the country’s 12 land boards did exceptionally well in land allocation, especially for residential plots, during the 2022/23 financial year.

He commended Chobe, Ghanzi and Rolong land boards for exceptional performance and appealed to others to benchmark from the three.

Assuring Batswana that they would be allocated land because government considered it a basic need, Mr Chenjekwa explained that land allocation was not an event but a process that involved different departments and ministries.

He said the boards were grappling with a number of challenges including shortage of land for allocation, undeveloped plots, self-allocation and corruption.

Another challenge was the  more than P300 million owed by land users unable to pay lease rentals due to the decline in business productivity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kgalagadi Land Board chairperson Mr Titus Estraheisein said there were many plots ready for allocation in his jurisdiction and advised Batswana to look for land in areas that were not densely populated. 

His Ghanzi counterpart Mr Mothethi Kwadibe echoed the same sentiments and appealed to Batswana to apply for land in his region,  specifically in Bere and Nxojane.

Mr Nixon Mogapi of Tati Land Board said his organisation did not meet its allocation targets due to shortage of land for boreholes and farms in the North East District.

Meanwhile, Real Estate Advisory Council chairperson Mr Omongwe Ramakoba advised Batswana to shun non-qualified real estate agents and decried the increasing incidence of money laundering in the sector. 

He said 30 cases of illegal real estate agents had been registered with two of them having been prosecuted. 

Botswana, Mr Ramakoba said, had about 136 qualified agents operating as valuers, auctioneers and realtors. Ends