"We are following the Central District Council (CDC) and the Ngwato Land Board for the gazettement of the village from its previous status as a settlement," Gaolathe said yesterday. The minister who is MP for Tonota North said he is eagerly waiting for the completion of the process. He expects the CDC to discuss the matter during its end of year full council meeting. "We have been eagerly waiting for the process to be concluded and we are hopeful that the CDC meeting will bring some good news." Gaolathe has previously briefed the villagers about progress made. He has been receiving inquiries from residents waiting for the day Jamataka will officially become a village so that they can enjoy full services from the government.

Previously, the villagers were caught in a legal battle with the Ngwato Land Board which wanted them to move and pave way for cattle barons. The cattle owners wanted to turn Jamataka into grazing land. The eviction case was later withdrawn from the Francistown High Court following the intervention of the government.

Early this year, Gaolathe told Mmegi that he expected Jamataka to be a gazetted village. In February, he said what was holding the process were technical aspects like surveying residential plots, lands and cattleposts. "A lot of work has been done towards declaring the settlement a village now," he said. But months down the line, Jamataka is yet to attain the status of a village.

The majority of Jamataka settlers have constructed makeshift structures, as they feared that they could be evicted any time. There is evidence that some settlers chose to leave the village in fear of evictions.

The number of dilapidated and abandoned dwelling structures tells the story. Of late, residents have been engaged in a series of meetings with government officials over land use plan.

The Basarwa-dominated settlement of Jamataka lies about 40 kilometres west of Francistown. It elders and residents like Mompati 'General' Gabatwaelwe are worried that the process of transforming Jamataka into a fully-fledged village is moving slowly. "Everything is still at a stand-still even after our victory against the cattle barons. The authorities have been coming here and going away. When are they ending the process?" he wondered. As the headman of arbitration, his dream is to one-day sit at the village Kgotla and preside over cases. "I want to earn a salary for serving my people and bring order in the village," he said.