The rich tell us how they toiled to make money. How they sold metal scraps or oranges or firewood. That is good. And should be encouraged. We would like to see many Batswana becoming rich in the hope that one day they will remember their old station in life and how people down there struggle, and help them. It is on the basis of this understanding that people in a better station in life should be more sensitive to the needs of those at the very bottom of the rung of prosperity, survival really that we are arguing as we are today. Our readers will recall a story in our yesterday edition of how the Tlokweng Land Board settled out of court in a case where the Land Board had given an already allocated plot to a big business. The plot had initially been allocated to an ordinary poor resident of Tlokweng. The Land Board claims that the owner of the business in question was never aware that there was controversy surrounding the plot until the Land Tribunal asked why the said business was not represented at the hearing. The Land Board's excuse does not seem to hold much water, especially considering the length of time the complaint was before it. The issue was very clearly a case of a poor man having to be moved because someone rich had to occupy the place. What is most puzzling is the fact that the rich fellow appears to be getting plots all over - legitimately yes we want to believe. The Lesetedi commission for example established that the same businessman owned over 700 plots in Gaborone. Many of these plots house Botswana government workers such as soldiers and police, whose rental is paid by the government. Would anyone be wrong to assume that there could be some connection between the allocation of these many plots, the construction of houses on them and the leasing of the properties by government? We are talking rentals in excess of 40 million Pula for some of these properties, not all. We believe that land allocations should not drive poor people into poverty - such as when they taken from them and given to the rich or when the poor are overlooked with the result that the rich get all the plots. Government should come out clean and say how its one man one plot policy applies to Batswana - investors and none investors alike. There surely has to be a balance, and some people cannot always be the only lucky ones when land tenders are awarded. We call upon government to put in place a transparent land tender system whose thrust should be to help develop other Batswana, not just a few select individuals. For example government could allow and financially assist by way of loans poor Batswana consortiums that want to develop multi residential housing or offices. The financial support should entail considering them when tenders are made for government's multi-million Pula accommodation and office space tenders.
Today's thought
All societies on the verge of death are masculine. A society can survive with only one man; no society will survive a shortage of women.
