10 Dec 2023

Government is committed to continue putting in place measures to control ownership and utilisation of freehold land.

Leader of the House and Vice President Mr Slumber Tsogwane said the revised Land Policy clearly stipulated the statutory measures that would be put in place to guide planning and development in freehold areas.

As such, he said freehold areas had been declared planning areas as part of the districts within which they were situated.

Mr Tsogwane was responding to a question posed by Bobonong Member of Parliament, Mr Taolo Lucas during Leader of the House question time on Thursday. 

Mr Tsogwane explained that at Independence, Botswana inherited a three-tier land tenure system. He said out of 582 000 square kilometers of the national land, tribal land accounted for 48.8 per cent while freehold and state land accounted for 47.4 per cent and five per cent respectively.

He said over the years, freehold land had recorded significant decrease as government continued to acquire it to augment both state and tribal land. 

He said Broadhurst and Bonnington farms were acquired to augment state land in Gaborone, while in Francistown some land was purchased to augment state land.

Similarly, he said in the North East some farms were purchased to augment tribal land for the district. As of now, Mr Tsogwane said freehold land accounted for three per cent of the total land area in the country, which was roughly 17 452 square kilometres.

Mr Tsogwane said with the ongoing acquisition of the remaining freehold land owned by Tati Company and others that could  be acquired in future, the current three per cent of freehold land would reduce significantly.

He said the larger part of freehold land was in the farming areas. Additionally, he said in Lobatse, Francistown and Gaborone, freehold land titles were also to private entities and individuals and such land included residential, farms and business plots.

At present, Mr Tsogwane said portions of freehold land were in Gaborone, Block 10 farms, extending to South East District measuring about 18 000 hectares while Lobatse Block had 31 farms, some of which were situated in the South East District measuring about 43 000 hectares.

Mr Tsogwane said Ghanzi Block had 205 freehold farms situated in both Ghanzi and Charleshill Districts measuring about 1.1 million hectares, Tuli Block Farms from the confluent of Limpopo and Shashe Rivers down South to Ngotwane River, north of Olifants Drift, thus covering Bobirwa, Palapye, Mahalapye District had 95 farms measuring about 153 000 hectares.

He said Tati Concession Farms in Francistown and North East originally had 230 farms, but due to subdivisions, they now have 392 portions with a total measurement of 1.6 million hectares and Borolong District with 26 freehold Molopo Farms measuring about 323 000 hectares.

Mr Tsogwane said freehold land titles conferred exclusive and unrestricted control over land property. Therefore, he said freehold land could never be said to lying idle or dormant as it was premised on the conferment of free unrestricted and undisturbed perpetual ownership in land.

At present, Mr Tsogwane said there was no development covenant which government was to base on to repossess freehold land titles unlike it was the case with tribal and state land. 

He said the owner of freehold land was free to use their land however they wanted.

“The practical effect of this is that even where the land is not developed it cannot unlike other land tenure be subject of repossession as it is not subject to any development covenant issued by the government,” said Mr Tsogwane.

He added that there was also no monitoring requirement placed on freehold farms to check whether they were developed, unutilised or underutilised.

He said even the Land Control Act whose object was to manage dealings on agricultural freehold land did not make provision for any development covenant on freehold land and had no clauses which spoke to what occurred in the event the registered owner had not developed the land.

Mr Tsogwane said the largest freehold land was found in the North East District owned by Tati Concession Limited which had since been acquired by government. 

In the Bobirwa District, Mr Tsogwane said the largest freehold land owner was the Mashatu Game Reserve which measures about 22 462 hectares and was owned by Mashatu Game Reserve Proprietary Limited and its shareholders were Botswana Development Corporation and Mashatu Investments.

He said in the Ghanzi District the largest farm was registered in the name of Ameechi Investments, measuring about 16 252 hectares.

For purposes of establishing the extent and ownership of freehold land in Botswana, Mr Tsogwane said members of the public were in terms of the Deeds Registry Act at liberty to visit the office of the Registrar of Deeds to confirm ownership of any such land.

He said if government wanted to acquire freehold, it undertakes the process of acquisition or enters into an agreement to purchase the freehold land from the owners.

He said the purchasing process could be on a willing seller, willing buyer basis or through compulsory acquisition. Mr Tsogwane said the procedure for doing that was outlined in the Constitution and the Acquisition of Property Act.

He said the same process was used in acquiring the Bonnington and Broadhurst farms in Gaborone and several Tati farms in Francistown and North East.

“Where there is need for acquisition of more freehold land to augment either tribal or state land, government as per policy will continue to engage registered owners of freehold land negotiate possible acquisition of such land subject to applicable laws,” he said.

When presenting the question on behalf of Bobonong MP, Maun West Member of Parliament, Mr Dumelang Saleshando had asked the Leader of the House to state the number and size of land occupied and owned through freehold titles in Botswana, the proportion of such land relative to the size of the district in which such land existed.

He also wanted to know the proportion of freehold land that was currently lying dormant and idle in each of the districts. 

He also asked the Leader of the House to name three of the largest owners of freehold land in the North East, Bobirwa and Ghanzi, also stating the amount of freehold owned by each individual or entity. ends