12 Aug 2026

Land allocation in Shashe West will be carried out when the surveyed layout is available and the expected number of plots to be allocated known after the design and survey of acquired land. 

Answering a question in Parliament on Tuesday, the Assistant Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Mr Motsamai Motsamai said allocation of new residential plots would be carried out after completing land acquisition process that was land acquisition, demarcation, surveying and land registration. 

Mr Motsamai said according to Botswana Land Policy of 2019, all land must be planned and surveyed prior to allocation. 

He said Shashe Mooke was last allocated in 2022 with the layout redesigned and approved by the Physical Planning committee in November 2025. 

Mr Motsamai said 916 residential plots were planned for survey and allocation in the financial year 2026/27 and that the plan was still on track as surveying was scheduled for third quarter (October-December 2026) with allocations expected to follow in the fourth quarter of this financial year. 

He said the delay in allocation of plots in these villages was due to unavailability of planned land and added that the village’s growth points were on ploughing fields abutting village boundaries. 

Mr Motsamai said the process of acquisition of the ploughing fields was prolonged by disagreements on the compensation values. 

The assistant minister said the land rights owners took time to submit their counter valuations. He noted that the markets rates were high and were increasingly expensive for government due to limited budget for land acquisitions and repossessions. 

Also, he said one factor that led to the delays was non-responsiveness of the land rights holders. Mr Motsamai said some areas, which were earmarked for expansion encountered ploughing fields owners who did not heed calls for consultations. 

He said there was also issues with regard to ploughing fields boundaries a factor that contributed to conclusion of consultations. 

Mr Motsamai said Borolong was last allocated in 2022 and the layout design had not commenced, as investigations were ongoing to find land rights owners for the purpose of land acquisition. 

The assistant minister  said the process was envisaged to be completed by end of October 2026, adding that the village of Chadibe was last allocated in 2015 and consultations for the base map area had now started and were expected to be completed by December 2026. 

He said Mathangwane was last allocated in 2022 and the layout was estimated to yield 1 773 plots but after layout approval, 1 928 plots had been realised. 

Mr Motsamai said it was anticipated to be surveyed by the end of December 2026 and allocations planned by end of 2026/27 financial year. 

He said Matsitama was last allocated in 2024 and layout plan had 393 plots and was approved in 2026 pending survey and registration. 

The assistant minister added that Mabesekwa was last allocated in 2015 with a layout, which was previously designed and was subsequently reviewed with a projected 1 030 plots. 

He said the layout was still to be presented before the Physical Planning committee this month (August) and was expected to be surveyed in quarter three. 

Also, he noted that the Makobo layout was at an advanced stage and expected to be approved this quarter with the survey, registration to follow in the third quarter and allocations done in quarter four, adding the last allocations were done in 2013. 

Mr Motsamai said compensations for the 240 residential plots that remained during the 2023 allocations in Natale had since been completed and allocations were planned by December 2026 as the general plan was in the process of being uploaded in the LIS system for system allocations. 

He said 34 ploughing fields were allocated in July 2025 in Natale with identification for additional ploughing fields at an advanced stage. 

The assistant minister said in future, ploughing fields would be allocated from pre-planned layouts with their sizes reflecting the diminishing land resource. 

Mr Motsamai said due to lack of financial resources, land delivery across the country was very much negatively affected. 

He said in the technical cadre, there were 26 vacancies across landboards nationally, which were key personnel for land service delivery. 

Mr Motsamai was responding to a question from Shashe West MP, Mr Jeremiah Frenzel who wanted an update on the state of land allocation in his constituency following indications that there were ongoing plot surveys in some villages. 

Mr Frenzel had also asked the minister to state when land allocations would commence in Shashe Mooke and when the residents of Borolong, Chadibe, Mathangwane, Matsitama, Mabesekwa and Makobo should expect to be assisted with residential land allocations. 

He also asked the minister when residential and ploughing fields plots would be allocated in Natale. ENDS