Jacob Nkate
In the case of Zimmal Reliance and Alberta Construction, who were allocated land in Block 6 without tendering, Nkate said he was misled by his officials. He was made to believe that the two companies had tendered. “That the minister was misled does not appear to be in dispute. Whether he was deliberately misled or not, we cannot tell. However, the minister, by his own admission did not read the file accompanying the minutes and for that reason, the picture he got would have been confined to the minutes and to oral briefing, if any. Had he delved into the file, he may not have found himself in this predicament of being misled,” said the Commissioners.
Margaret Nasha
She felt compelled to finalise the Mynhard application in 2003 though she had reservations about the way it was handled. The Minister approved the change of use of land from recreational to commercial. The application was initially handled by Daniel Kwelagobe and later Nkate who were in charge of the Lands Ministry before her. “It was not until 14th August 2003, i.e. fifteen months later, that the appeal was brought before the honourable minister. She upheld the appeal and expressed her displeasure at the inordinate delay by the Ministry in handling the appeal. This was a newly appointed minister……,” the Commission said on Nasha. Like Nkate, she relied on officials who not only denied her the necessary information but were also dishonest.
An accusation was made against her that she favoured G & S Properties belonging to Abram Mophuting. This is in relation to a plot near Bull and Bush. The accusation was made by Hendrick Banda, a former employee of the Department of Lands. The Commission has however cleared Nasha. “We have not found anything improper in her conduct within the procedures being applied at the time under direct allocation,” the Commission said.
Daniel Kwelagobe
His major blunder is in the Hi-Tech case. The fateful March 30 1999 meeting he had with Luc Vandecasteele, Tshekedi Khama, Ronald Marsh and Deputy Permanent Secretary David Modibetsane appears to be the mother of his troubles. In his evidence before the Commission, Kwelgobe said he was not even aware that Modibetsane chaired the Town and Country Planning Board, whose decisions he was able to crush (by virtue of his being a Deputy PS) when he made the recommendation to the Minister.
Following the meeting, Kwelagobe signed the minutes in which he confirmed “ruling’ that the land given to Hi-Tech on Segoditshane valley be sub-divided. In the minutes, he authorised the granting of a further piece of land to the company upon application. He authorised the change of use of the land- two thirds remained civic and community and a third changed into commercial use. Kwelagobe said the meeting was informal but Modibetsane was adamant that it was an appeal to the Minister.
The Commission established that Hi-Tech/Busy Five was allowed to make a change of use without being granted a title deed and without paying the full price. “One wonders what would happen if such a person was to be granted the planning permission for a change of use and subsequently failed to pay the full purchase price to acquire the land.”
