11 Jun 2026

Tlokweng District councillors have unanimously rejected a proposal by government to upgrade their village to a township.

Debating the proposal on day three of the Tlokweng District Council full session on Wednesday, the councillors shared the same sentiments and cited fears over cultural erosion, loss of land rights under township laws and instead advocated for a ‘smart village’ model.

Led by Kgosi Puso of Batlokwa, the council advanced reasons how the proposal threatened their cultural existence and land ownership rights.

Government plans to declare Tlokweng a township as part of a national spatial strategy aimed at accommodating rapid urban migration and economic expansion.

The proposal has been met with resistance from Batlokwa leadership and residents alike in the preceding public engagements such as Kgotla meetings in the recent past.

Kgosi Puso said the move was a sensitive matter which sought to annihilate the cultural fabric of Batlokwa.

“For the Batlokwa, this move threatens not only the loss of their last communal landholdings, but also the erosion of a cultural heritage that has endured for centuries. It seeks to annihilate the fabric that defines the Batlokwa tribe and we see that as a violation of the republican Constitution,” said Kgosi Puso.

He said the proposal impacted heavily on the pre-existing rights to land ownership by Batlokwa to their ancestral land.

He said the Bogosi Act advocated for the promotion of the welfare of Morafe by Kgosi and that land was a resource that advanced such.

“Land is the umbilical cord that connects the ancestral heritage to the community. We see this proposal as a historical injustice that is just presented under the pretext of bringing developments,” added Kgosi Puso.

Matlala Ward councilor, Mr Tiro Sediakgotla said the proposal underpinned the loss of cultural identity of the Batlokwa people as a tribe. 

He said embracing the transition as proposed would heavily weigh on the Bogosi system and undermine the dikgosi’s authority. 

Cllr Sediakgotla also highlighted the financial burdens and economic woes associated with the transition.

Lenganeng Ward councilor, Ms Martha Matlotse said socio-economic developments could reach Tlokweng without the village transitioning into a township.

She decried lack of land as the main factor for her disapproval.

Letlapeng ward councilor, Mr Collen Mochotlhi said land ownership was manageable under the current set up and that the level of developments in Tlokweng was high over the past period. 

Specially elected councilor, Ms Kedibonye Batlang said Tlokweng tribal authority must focus on remodeling the village into a smart model village and disregard the proposal of upgrading to a township.

Tlokweng Land Board chairperson, Mr Elijah Katse said the village was recognised constitutionally as a traditional village with Kgosi and his morafe and the latter had a constitutional obligation to retain their status as a tribe.

Earlier, Tlokweng District Council Physical Planner Ms Motsei Tlagae laid the strategic background and highlighted that the proposal was intended to foster social development and sustainable resource use, guiding the transformation of Tlokweng into a formal township that could better align with the broader urban economy.

She said the council had taken a comprehensive stakeholder consultation process to assess the feasibility and desirability of upgrading the village to township status. ENDS