11 Aug 2024

The acute shortage of land that has been a thorn in the flesh for the people of the North East will soon be a thing of the past thanks to the decision by the government to procure 45 000 hectares of land from Tati Company worth P1.4 billion. 

For years on end, the people in the North East District, especially farmers, both arable and pastoral, have complained about the shortage of land in the district, which they said was a major stumbling block to the agriculture sector. 

His Excellency, President Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, who addressed a kgotla meeting and officiated the opening of the Kgotla Shelter in Butale on Friday, relayed that the decision by the government to buy the land was in view of the unavailability of land for pastoral, arable, and residential land. 

“Re tswa go reka lefatshe, go raya gore mongwe le mongwe wa lona le bana ba bana ba lona le nne ka tsholofelo le tshepo ya gore dithota tsa lona di tlaa phuthuloga,” he said to the ululations from residents who packed the kgotla. 

Moreover, Dr Masisi stated that the procurement of the land would open business avenues in the area that would create employment and improve people’s livelihoods. 

On rampant vandalism of the border fence, Dr  Masisi promised residents that he would engage the same approach and strategy he employed to quell similar incidents of lawlessness that occurred in the Bobirwa area. 

On others, President Masisi gave residents of Butale a pat on the back for upholding the principle of Ipelegeng, which was primarily the main reason why they were able to construct the state-of-the-art kgotla shelter in their village. 

“I am so proud of you. In spite of the small size of your village, you have been able to build so many exquisite offices, and one can only hope you inspire others to follow in your footsteps,” he said. 

He commended the North East village lone primary for its consistent and outstanding Primary School Leaving Examinations  results. President Masisi also used the platform to praise  Tebogo Letsile, who hoisted the blue, black, and white national colours at the Paris 2024 Olympics in France by attaining pole position and scooping a gold medal in the 200m race, a first for the country and Africa. 

The exploit by Tebogo should be a lesson to all that, with proper perspective and mindset, everything is possible. Batswana, he said, should be happy every time a fellow Motswana does well in every sphere of life, something that would help accelerate the nation towards achieving prosperity for all by 2036. 

The President also highly praised Mr Ben Samson, one of the farmers, for blowing a whistle at the initial stage of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Butale. 

“If it were not for him, the disease could have spread throughout the country and dealt a hard blow to the beef industry,” he said, calling on Batswana to emulate Mr Samson’s public goodwill and sense of responsibility. 

In her welcome remarks earlier, Kgosi Grace Butale gave a brief history of the village, snuggled between farms and the Botswana/Zimbabwe border, dating as far back as 1911. 

She said the resolve to construct the kgotla shelter was purely an aspect of mindset change by the people of Butale to complement efforts by  government. 

Kgosi also commended the government for the speedy restocking exercise, saying most of the restocked cattle had started calving. 

Area MP,  Dr Douglas Letsholathebe, was elated that during his tenure he contributed to efforts to procure 45 000 hectares of land to be used by the people of the North East District. 

He was also happy that the water situation has also been resolved, as well as the thorough way in which the government resolved Foot and Mouth that crippled the North East district. 

Dr Letsholathebe pledged to sponsor 60 people to undergo artificial insemination training at the Impala Research Centre near Francistown. Ends