Kgatleng: Land Board from hell
Innocent Selatlhwa | Wednesday October 22, 2025 06:00
Kgatleng Land Board chairperson, Mothusi Molefi, had called a first of its kind meeting, where he addressed Bakgatla on issues they face with the Land Board and its subsidiaries in Mochudi, Oodi, Mmathubudukwane, and Artesia sub land boards. In his welcome remarks, Kgosi Bana Sekai said Molefi requested for a meeting for Bakgatla to come and share their frustrations with the Land Board.
Sekai said the chairperson joined the Land Board in July 2009 and that it was the first time the Land Board called a meeting. He said it made him hopeful that they would get their act together.
For his part, Molefi said they wished to hold the meetings every quarter of the year to discuss issues with the morafe. He added he was aware that many had issues with either the Kgatleng Land Board or its subsidiaries.
He said the main issue was that of plot allocation, with many people not getting land though they long applied.
Molefi said Mochudi Sub Land Board has 46,719 applicants on the waiting list while Artesia has 14,797, Mmathubudukwane has almost 100,000, with Oodi also hovering around 100,000 applicants.
He however said in this regard, they are challenged by the fact that they have to buy ploughing fields closer to the villages at market price. He, however, said the prices are usually too high.
“You would buy a 20-hectare ploughing field which has a borehole, a modern house, with livestock. It will cost P3.2 million and it will give me only 11 serviced plots.
“It is too little for the waiting lists with dozens waiting,' he told the gathering.
Further, he said funds are limited. He said currently, there is no village with land in Kgatleng.
He said they recently gave out 78 plots from a ploughing field in Modipane. Of these, he said 48 have been sold already despite the owners having waited for 25 years.
Molefi said they had backlogs on various applications, with Mochudi sub land board having around 5,000 applications for registration of old ploughing fields.
He said the backlog is caused by the fact that things were not done properly at the sub land board as there seemed to be a lot of corruption.
“I agree with you that something is not being done right. That is why there was a decision to pause the ploughing fields allocations. They would just allocate someone who is not even on the waiting list your field that is waiting to be registered.
“This they did knowing that the law stipulates that if a double allocation has occurred, the other person would be given land elsewhere, in the process those people would skip the waiting list,” he said.
Molefi said there were also multitudes of transfers yet to be attended to. He said even just to correct names, people are made to wait for at least 12 months, which makes the residents suffer.
“Sometimes people submit applications and are later told some documents are missing. Even when they replace the said documents, they go missing again and you are often told that you are bothering the same civil servants who should be helping you,” he said.
Molefi said this has led to Land Board officials now turning to receiving bribes for them to assist customers. He said this then leaves those without the money to grease their palms suffering.
He said the situation in Mochudi is also rampant in Mmathubudukwane and Oodi.
He said some people are forced to wait as long as four years for plots to be transferred from their late parents to them.
“And for these changes to happen, you just need a board to meet and be assisted. I have, however, realised that some of our employees are just lazy and do not know what they are doing.
“You are not wrong to petition us. It is sad that I was targeted, but I do not even touch files. We are aware of all these reports which continue to come in,” he said.
Further, he accused residents of working with Land Board officials to sometimes steal files. He said in some instances, children drag their parents to the Kgotla and make them sign off their properties without their knowledge.
Molefi also told residents that Forensic Auditors have reached their Land Board and called all those with information to come forward and share any evidence they had.
For their part, various express fury at the land board employees over poor customer service in dealing with them. They called for expulsion or transfer of employees to outside Kgatleng or different government institutions as they believed they were beyond redemption.
In his closing words, Kgosi Bana Sekai pleaded with Bakgatla to stop selling ploughing fields and residential plots. He said 70% of transfers are to foreigners.
Sekai said it was a call for concern that their land is being sold leaving Bakgatla homeless in the future. He called on them to stop selling land and in most cases buying second hand cars.
Sekai said they would use the attendance register to support them as they take their request to have the Land Board staff be removed.
He further suggested that just like in Tlokweng, when plots are allocated, Bakgatla should get 60% whilst those from outside Kgatleng get 40%.
He further called on Molefi to speak to his boards and employees to stay away from issues relating to inheritance.
“They should know they are not empowered to listen to such issues concerning inheritance. And take them to Dikgosi.
“We have seen cases where children are fighting over inherited land and they refused to assist them accordingly. I plead that they stay away from such issues,” he said.
Sekai said Land Board employees do as they wish in their line of duty. He dropped a few names and said such people should be removed from the Land Board as they were terrible in assisting people.
He said his son was amongst those who had requested a transfer after buying a ploughing land for three years as a certain officer is just sitting on the file.
He said the same employee just passed him as he waited for her and she just ignored him though she was aware he is Kgosi.
Kgatleng Central legislator Mpho Morolong said he was not happy with a lot that is going on at the Land Board.
“I am not happy with the Land Board and I have even lost trust in them. From what you have been saying about them since last year. Even when the minister was here, you stated your displeasure and reports keep coming in huge numbers to my office,” he said.
“It is unfortunate, however, that the issues still remain unresolved. It must be clear that I am not happy. I told them that I want investors to come here but they are not getting help.”