18 Mar 2014

Member of Parliament for Nata/Gweta, Mr Rayner Makosha has said land servicing should be extended to rural areas.

Debating the Ministry of Lands and Housing budget request for the 2014/15 financial year on Monday, March 17, Mr Makosha said they should also take stock of the available land in the country.

Mr Makosha said the ministry should also ensure that huge portions of land were not allocated to foreigners while ensuring that Batswana had access to it. He said allocation of farms should be given to people who had an interest in farming, adding that plot allocation waiting list was also worrisome.

MP for Kweneng South East, Mr Mmoloki Raletobana said the allocation of in-fields or open spaces should be expedited, saying there were some fields allocated to individuals by the Mogoditshane Sub-land board whose records were not available, leading to double allocations.

Furthermore, Mr Raletobana said the ministry should partner with private developers to help in servicing land. He however warned about allocating land in his constituency to individuals who then turn it into small holdings with farm houses built, as this could in future not augur well for the expansion of the capital city.

Commenting, MP for Kweneng South, Dr John Seakgosing said Batswana needed land as they continued to grow in population adding that land servicing should be rolled out to land boards and it must include provision water and electricity services.

Dr Seakgosing said he appreciated the public officers housing programme and also said there should be a special dispensation for those investors who want to start projects that would create employment for many Batswana.

MP for Kanye North, Mr Kentse Rammidi said it was worrisome to allocate people unserviced plots and asked that the private sector be brought on board to help in land servicing and also ensure that not only foreigners benefit.

He said residents of Rra-Seno ward in his constituency cannot develop their land as they still await the minister to address them on the status of their plots.

Mr Rammidi said sand harvesting was also causing conflicts and suggested that the resource be managed by local communities for sustainable purposes.

MP for Kgalagadi North, Mr Phillip Khwae in his contribution said he was hoping that the minister would touch on the review of the land policy, which should have been presented to Parliament by now.

He said he has realised that Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) has no interest in constructing houses in rural areas and called on the minister to address the issue.

Mr Khwae said the Rural Development Programme (RDP) should help in addressing accommodation shortage for public officers in rural areas.

He noted that priority should be given to investors when it comes to land allocations, especially in areas such as Kgalagadi, adding that research should be done before allocating farms.

For his part, MP for Tswapong South, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi said farms in the Tuli Block area continue to encroach into the Limpopo River, which is the boundary between Botswana and South Africa.

He urged the minister to correct the anomaly as security forces cannot patrol the borders as they would be trespassing.

Mr Molebatsi said the ministry should desist from allocating people plots when the necessary services such as water, electricity and roads have not been provided for.

Kweneng East MP Major General Moeng Pheto said it was taking long to service land and noted that some fields have even turned into forests. ENDS