Land waiting lists are artificial- Dr Tshabang

Bame Piet

Land allocation waiting lists that have exceeded half a million applications across the country could be artificial, if what MP for Nkange Dr Never Tshabang said is anything to go by.

When commenting on a report on Agriculture, Lands and Housing select committee, Dr Tshabang said in the Tutume Sub Landboard, there are 17 000 applicants in the waiting list, but close to 70 percent of them have been allocated land elsewhere, and will be rejected.

However, Tshabang said, the landboard cannot call them for a meeting to explain why they should be allocated and has kept them in the waiting list.

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“About 70 percent in the waiting list are going to be rejected but they are kept in the waiting list and they are not being told to come and show cause why they should be allocated the plots they applied for. We must screen the applicants and clean the system to avoid wasting time with people who are going to be rejected,” he said.

The legislator said the process of allocating land is unnecessarily long because it involves six stages prior to allocation, which stages require the input of district councils.

Some of the steps, he said, are unnecessary since councils do not have the manpower to execute duties on behalf of landboards, and this translates to eight years of waiting before one can be allocated land.

He said there is plenty of unoccupied land in Botswana but the citizens do not have residential and business plots because of these delays.

In some instances, he said, people have surrendered their ploughing fields to the landboards but they have not been compensated and are kept in the dark for years without any updates.

He said preference should be given to those who surrendered their fields whenever new land has been found for allocation of masimo instead of opening the allocation to everyone.

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“There should be consideration or 30 percent reservation for locals when there are allocations then you can open for everyone,” he added saying this was done in Tlokweng a few years back.

 

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