10 Aug 2025

The delay in the allocation of residential plots in Serowe is largely due to the non availability of readily usable land and challenging topography.

Answering a question in Parliament on Thursday, acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Edwin Dikoloti explained that while there may appear to be plenty of land around the village, most of it was arable fields and communal grazing areas, and converting it for residential use would affect agricultural livelihoods.

He added that landowners were generally unwilling to give up their fields as they relied on them for survival.

The minister also cited the difficult terrain around Serowe, noting the presence of black cotton soils, rocks, streams, gullies and land fissures, which make planning and development challenging.

He informed Parliament that the last residential plot allocation in Serowe was in 2016, when 1 863 plots were allocated.

To respond to the ongoing demand, Dr Dikoloti said the Serowe Planning Area Development Plan (2018–2038) had identified seven infill sites within the village.

He said these sites covered about 600 hectares and were expected to yield approximately 4 900 plots.

However, he acknowledged that these areas faced challenges, including illegal squatters and erosion caused by heavy rains, which exposed unstable soils.

Dr Dikoloti noted that earlier planning did not involve geo-technical studies, a gap they now intended to close in the current planning processes.

On the resumption of plot allocations, Dr Dikoloti stated that two infill layouts in Dinokwane East and Tshikinyega, comprising a total of 225 plots were expected to be allocated by November 2025, as they were currently undergoing land registration.

He further revealed that the Mannathoko Ward infill layout, with approximately 900 plots, was scheduled for surveying in September with allocations anticipated by March 2026.

However, he cautioned that poor soil profiles in the area might reduce the number of usable plots. Dr Dikoloti shared additional planned allocations within the Serowe Sub-Land Board jurisdiction as follows, in Mogorosi 409 plots, planned for allocation in September, Moiyabana 800 plots, survey scheduled for August-September, Thabala 500 plots, survey scheduled for September–October, Mogorosi 409 plots, survey planned for October-November.

He said all these were part of ongoing efforts to ensure land was made available to the people of Serowe without compromising critical agricultural land.

Dr Dikoloti was responding to questions raised by Serowe South MP, Mr Leepetswe Lesedi who wanted to know the reasons for the delay in plot allocations in Serowe, the date of the last allocation and when residents could expect allocations to resume. ENDS