26 Nov 2013

Local authorities in Chobe District have recommended that an independent land transfer committee with an advisory role be set up to assist Chobe Land Board in assessing applications for the transfer of land titles to second or third parties.

Deliberating during a workshop on draft resolutions from previous public consultations conducted by Ditshwanelo recently, stakeholders were of the view that this proposed independent committee must function with the overall intention of protecting the rights and interests of people wishing to transfer their land so that they would not get cheated as happened before.

“I find nothing wrong with an independent committee being set up to address a prevailing problem,” President of the Land Tribunal in northern Botswana, Mr Phetsolo Nare said. “The land board does not even have to be a member of that committee but they can make a decision to recognize that committee.”

President of the Customary Court of Appeal in northern Botswana, Kgosi Christopher Masunga, welcomed the idea saying it would protect cases where marginalised people were taken advantage of. Kgosi Masunga said that the law gave the land board the discretion to come up with any initiative it deems effective in carrying out their mandate, including setting up of committees.

Also, the gathering passed the resolution that the committee must consult with close relatives of the transferee as part of the assessment to ensure that the relatives of the transferee were at least aware of the application for transfer prior to resolving the application.

In view of the proliferation of co-habitation relationships, the gathering resolved that Ntlo ya Dikgosi representatives should present a motion to the house calling on the nation and the government to recognise cohabitation as form of marriage.

According to the resolution, it is proposed that citizen spouses that have been living together for at least two years, and a citizen and a non-citizen that have lived together for at least five years must be treated as married couple when resolving cases of land. ENDS