Decades-long wait for land pushes Shashe West residents to breaking point
Pini Bothoko | Monday December 15, 2025 06:00
Many say they are ageing in their parents’ homes, raising their own families in already overcrowded homesteads and watching their hopes of attaining residential plots repeatedly deferred by the State.
In Borolong, Mathangwane and Shashemooke villages, some residents only got plots in 2022 despite having applied as far back as 1993/94, leaving thousands who applied later wondering how much longer their wait will be. The prolonged delays were among the most sensitive issues ahead of the 2024 General Election, which also contributed to the Botswana Democratic Party's (BDP) long-dominating stronghold status crashing.
This week, the frustration of residents resurfaced in Parliament when the Member of Parliament for Shashe West, Jeremiah Frenzel, sought clarity on when villages in his constituency would finally receive new allocations, questioning delays and seeking to know how many plots are expected.
Responding to him, the Acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Edwin Dikoloti, provided a detailed breakdown, revealing that many of the villages have not had allocations for more than a decade.
Dikoloti revealed that the last residential plots allocation in Makobo was in 2011, Jamataka, 2013, Matsitama, 2014, Mabesekwa and Chadibe, 2015, Mathangwane, Borolong and Shashemooke, 2022 and Natale in 2023.
He further stated that the land allocation process remains slow primarily due to lack of ready land, which involves planning, acquisition, surveying and registration, which are lengthy and often hampered by incomplete compensation to land rights owners.
Furthermore, Dikoloti said some owners of ploughing fields required for expansion resist surrendering their land, while others do not respond to compensation notices, delaying acquisition and subsequent planning.
“Climate change has worsened land degradation in some villages, with dongas and gullies rendering plots undevelopable. Additionally, austerity measures and limited resources at Land Boards have also slowed surveying and compensation processes across several villages,” he said.
Doing village by village progress, Dikoloti stated that compensation funding in Makobo village has finally been secured, stating that a base map was produced in June 2025, and it is now in its final design stage. He said the map will be presented to the District Physical Planning Committee before year-end and about 1, 000 plots are expected.
Regarding Jamataka, Matsitama and Mabesekwa, he said layouts for 45, 393, and 1, 045 plots plots respectively, are approved but not yet surveyed. He said surveys were initially planned for the 2025/26 financial year but were postponed due to austerity measures, and they have now moved to the 2026/27 financial year, resources permitting.
As for Chadibe village, he disclosed that although the base map is ready, consultations with landowners have stalled, meaning no land has been acquired, and as such, a definite allocation date cannot be set.
Zooming into Borolong village, Dikoloti revealed that a 71-hectare layout design was halted after it emerged compensation had not been completed, but compensation resumed in October 2025 and is expected to finish by December 2025. He said planning will resume afterwards, and allocation dates will be known only once the land is fully acquired.
Regarding Mathangwane plot allocation, Dikoloti said the village has 1,773 plots awaiting surveying that were initially planned for December 2025, but surveys did not proceed due to economic constraints. He revealed that work is now planned for the next financial year, to be followed by allocations.
As for Shashemooke, he said the village layout was redesigned due to stream interference, but it was approved in November 2025; it now has 916 plots scheduled for surveying and allocation in 2026/27. He added that during the 2023 allocation,240 plots remained at Natale village due to compensation backlogs, but compensation is expected to finish by December 2025, paving the way for allocation in 2026/27.
For many locals, the explanation does little to ease their fears that they may continue waiting indefinitely. Over two decades without land has left some residents now in their 40s and 50s still dependent on parents and extended families.
This generational cycle of delay has fueled discontent in the constituency, which many say is losing hope that the government will ever deliver on land.