It seems that this is how things are done nowadays. In the recent past, the government needed a slice of my tshimo in order that a road could be constructed to the new fuel reserve at Tshele.
The process of acquiring and compensating proved to be extraordinarily ponderous but will, I hope, be eventually concluded. The first time I was involved in such issues was much earlier when the BTC summarily nicked a small chunk of a museum-owned property in Mochudi. I battled to try and get some form of compensation for the museum but was simply told that it had been compulsorily acquired, not compulsorily purchased. My two experiences came instantly to mind when reading the advert placed by the Morupule Coal Mine in the Sunday Standard, Telegraph and doubtless all the other newspapers, together with the associated news stories, one of which was headlined, ‘MCM confirms Sebetela’s ‘unjustifiable’ P26 million compensation’. The story as set out in some detail by the Morupule Mine is seemingly so bizarre, so outrageous it is almost impossible to believe. In sum, the Mine needs an additional area of land for the development of a new open cast mine which will provide coal to the expanded Morupule B power station. The size of the area in question was unstated but apparently no less than 166 farmers would need to be compensated.
