14 May 2025

Shortage of staff in land boards has been identified as an obstacle to efficient and timely allocation of land to Batswana.

Speaking during the stakeholder engagement meeting in Thamaga on Monday, sub-land board chairperson Mr Fredrick Malebye expressed commitment to providing timely and scheduled assistance to customers. However, he acknowledged that the board was hindered by shortage of staff, which has impeded their ability to meet these goals.

Mr Malebye said land allocation was complex and demanding task that required strict adherence to procedures outlined in the Tribal Land Act and associated regulations. Acknowledging the concerns of applicants, he noted that the situation was further complicated by their proximity to Gaborone.  

Mr Malebye note that Batswana often expected prompt land allocations upon submitting their applications. However, he said this was not the case in many instances, as the waiting list extended back to 2005 and there was insufficient land available to meet the demand. Mr Malebye admitted that while land was a finite resource, it was imperative for the land board to enhance its efforts to meet the land allocation needs of Batswana. 

As for unique challenges faced by villages under his jurisdiction,  the Thamaga Sub Land Board chairperson said the waiting list for Ramaphatle stood at 9 448, and since 2015 there had been no allocation made from the waiting list.

He said the list was more than the village population of about 800 people as per the 2022 population census, which might mean people who applied were those who failed to get allocations from Gaborone hence they applied in the city periphery.

Mr Malebye said when Ramaphatle was declared a settlement in 2013, they had to regularise squatters who settled there for many years, but realised later that their numbers increased during the process and they had to pause and reflect on the matter.

He said Gakgatla waiting list that dated back to 2006 was 9 634 from which 1 654 had been allocated. The chairperson further said 1 220 applicants were allocated plots from Kubung waiting list of 4 534, adding that 700 plots had been demarcated and were still at physical planning department.

Mr Malebye said Thamaga waiting list was 15 662 and they recently allocated 2 128 plots for 2006 while Diphiring lay out was expected to yield 700 plots. Additionally, he said Kumakwane waiting list was 14 717 and there had been no allocation since 2006, but a development plan was designed in 2005.

He said there was an envisaged future allocation for Phase 1 and 2 development plan which were pending due to acquired land that were at compensation level stage. Mr Malebye said Mmankgodi village had a waiting list dating back from 2006 that stood at 10 360 and the current allocation was at 3 514 for 2007, adding that some people rejected the allocations saying the area was rocky.

Mr Malebye shared some generic challenges among them land acquisition, claims of open spaces as inheritance, self-extension in built up areas, fraudulent transactions through inheritance and unauthorized change of land use.

He said selling of land was also a very worrisome trend that posed big challenge, adding that newly allocated plots were sold immediately after allocations ,citing Gakgatla in 2022 and now Mmankgodi. The chairperson said those who undertook such activity deny themselves to be ever allocated land again.

Mr Malebye further said production of Secure Land Title (SLT) stalled after they managed to undertake only 80 SLT certificate mainly due to shortage of personnel. He added that they were still dealing with transfer of residential plots and ploughing fields dating back to 2020, and to date they attended to 1100 applications.

He said they faced a challenge of self-plot allocations by churches in their area and urged them to desist from the practice. Mr Malebye urged councilors to work with the land board and share the board’s challenges with their electorates but also come up with solutions to the challenges. ENDS