Borolong residents up in arms over P65 million vet fence
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday September 1, 2025 06:00
According to the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture (MLA), the fence was erected in response to the increasing threat of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the neighbouring North West province in the Republic of South Africa which shares a border with Botswana.
“As part of the mitigation measures to reduce the risk of FMD incursion into Botswana, a double cordon fence was constructed. Prior to the construction of the fence, a 30 metre wide patrol route from the borderline was cleared, which covered a distance of 182 km from Banyana Farms to Tlhareselelee,” MLA acting Chief Public Relations Officer Neo Lenkopane stated in a response to a questionnaire from Mmegi.
The project, which included clearance of the patrol route, fence construction, borehole drilling, borehole equipping, installation of water reservoirs, and construction of livestock handling facilities, started in November 2023 and was completed in December 2024.
Speaking to Mmegi along the Molopo River bank between the veterinary gate and the borderline, Leonard Dikobe said the river was the livelihood of Mokatako as it benefited them in many ways.
Dikobe said they saw construction vehicles busy along the borderline from Ramatlabama to Mabule, and when they asked questions, they were told that a veterinary fence would be built, primarily to fight FMD.
“We then asked, why another fence while there is already a fence that could have been fixed. There was no clear answer, and those on site continued with their work, clearing the land for the fence. We asked if they had been granted permission by the Department of Environmental Affairs looking at the fact that the fence was lengthy and that it was going alongside the river and the borderline. All these things require conducting of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), but it was never conducted,” he said.
Dikobe said the Environmental Impact Act dictates that when a project is carried out, there should be no alternative to what else could have been done. He, however, said the other route that could have been taken would have been for the two countries to engage regarding the already existing fence through relevant ministers in the two countries.
“I personally spoke to the then Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Lemogang Kwape, and told him about our situation that we are losing a river while there was an already existing fence in which Botswana could invest and share with South Africa. He said he would try to speak to the Minister responsible for Agriculture, and to this day, there was never an intervention until the fence was fully erected,” he said.
Dikobe said that during winter, Botswana livestock can only look at the water through the fence. He said that despite a borehole having been dug to water their livestock, it has challenges as the water supply is unreliable and often breaks down.
“That saddens us, looking at the fact that we had God given water flowing in the river all year round. All this was done without our input despite the law recognising that they should have consulted us and also made assessments,” he said.
On what positives could have been brought by the fence, he said it was difficult to say, as there was already a fence that would have gotten the job done by just fixing it.
He said they were faced with many cases of stock theft, but could not give credit to the fence as those who want to commit crimes still find a way to cross the fence. “There is still a need for policing and patrolling along the border, day and night. There should also be a buy-in of residents for the police to successfully carry out their duties. We, however, wish and hope the fence will slow down the theft, but we continue losing our livestock,” he said.
For his part, Tshetlha Mokgomaki said the fence was imposed on them.
“They told us they wanted to curb FMD while there was already a borderline. The border could be jointly patrolled by South Africa and Botswana. Even though stock theft was always there, it was better than now,” he said.
Mokgomaki said the fence caused part of their land to be out of their reach. He said all the way from Molete, there was a dam built by their forefathers and watered livestock for both countries, and the borderline went through the dam.
“There was also another dam at Leporung, which also watered both countries all the way to Mabule. When they constructed the new fence, they disregarded all that. We quizzed why they would not fix the already existing fence in South Africa, and they went ahead with the fence. We now realise that South Africans are unable to patrol on it, just the Botswana side they try to patrol, but now this has left a huge gap for thieves as the patrols are from just one country,” he said.
Mokgomaki said what saddens them is that they lost their land in which they could use for grazing and watering of their livestock.
He said even though security officials do patrol, it is not enough as there are a few camps for the officers. He said they have also experienced increased cases of stolen vehicles passing through their village. Further, he said there were also those using the area to transit drugs and banned vegetables.
Khumoyame Kalane- Kgosiemang said she was concerned about the escalating crime in their village of Mokatako and neighbouring villages along the border.
She said she recently lost a herd of goats, including pregnant ones, to thieves across the border. “I recently woke up to find that my goats had been stolen the previous night. I was alerted by my child that the goats were not in the kraal. I rushed there and realised that they cut through the fence of the kraal and drove away eight goats, leaving behind only two old ones,” she said.
She said she went on to call her neighbours, and they followed their tracks, which led to the veterinary fence. She said her brother, who is also her neighbor, would then realise that all his goats were gone, save for just one that was old.
Kalane- Kgosiemang said that since they managed to get back some of the goats, they felt so lucky, stating that often when people lose their goats, they never get them back.
Quizzed whether the recently erected veterinary fence was not of help, she said, even though they try to close some of the openings on the fence using tree branches, the thieves simply move them aside and drive the goats across. She lamented that the security was insufficient as security officials from both countries are unable to patrol cordially along the same border line.
Responding to questions from Mmegi, Lenkopane said the erection of the fence was done in-house using the department of veterinary staff and staff from other departments, complemented with temporary and casual staff who were employed locally.
Lenkopane further stated that the total project expenditure was P65.6 million, adding that the cordon fence is regularly patrolled and it is in good condition, but the level of vandalism is high and bridges are being repaired.
She said they were aware of the complaints of the Mokatako residents, that they had not been consulted. However, she said the communities along the border were consulted through Kgotla meetings, including Mokatako village, on the need for the construction of a cordon fence to mitigate against the risk of incursion of FMD into Botswana.
“The construction of the fence was done under an emergency, and due to the emergency nature of the project, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not done,” she admitted.
She said before the construction of the cordon fence, residents predominantly relied on dams in the Molopo River as a source of water for their livestock. Considering that the construction of the fence was cutting off access to these water sources, she said 14 boreholes were drilled along the border, of which 12 have been equipped with a solar pumping system, including installation of water reservoirs, water reticulation to the drinking spots, provision of concrete water troughs, and construction of livestock handling facilities (kraals and crush races).
On claims that the fence is far from the border, making it difficult for security officials from both countries to man the border line, Lenkopane said the fence was constructed 10 meters from the border fence within the 30-meter patrol route. “These 10 meters were intended to provide access to different organs to the international boundary, such as patrols, including maintenance of the border and cordon fence. The clearance of the patrol route has greatly assisted accessibility to the border fence,” she said.
Lenkopane emphasised that cordon fences are a critical component of a network of disease control infrastructure in the control and management of animal diseases in Botswana, predominantly FMD.
“Such a critical infrastructure, which was developed over a period of time, has played a critical role in eradicating FMD in most parts of the country, including the Borolong area. Such areas are recognised as FMD-free zones by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). Such recognition has created an opportunity for animals and animal products originating from FMD-free zones to access international markets. Access to such markets brings revenue into the country and improves livelihoods for the livestock farmers in the country.'