Lands Ministry accused of defying Boko's Bonno project
Larona Makhaiza | Wednesday August 5, 2026 06:00
Last year, Boko launched the Bonno Housing Project at Palapye, tailor-made to provide housing to Batswana across 61 constituencies. He set himself and the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) a target of 61,000 houses. This was against their manifesto target of 100,000 houses in five years.
As the ministry appeared before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday, Phologolo accused the portfolio ministry responsible for issuing title deeds of disrupting the roll-out of this project.
The legislator alleged that there are investors ready to invest millions in the project but continue to hit a wall as the ministry is not issuing title deeds.
“The President instructed that constituencies should build 1,000 houses under the Bonno Housing Project. At Ledubeng we looked around, and we saw some investors for Kanye West Constituency, and they have been given all permits. They intend to build around 420 units, and that’s a smart city,” he said.
However, Phologolo bemoaned that the project to date has not taken off and pointed the finger at the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture for dragging its feet.
“When we engaged with the Ministry of Water and Human Settlements, which BHC falls under, they told me that investors are only waiting on one thing: a title deed, and we are talking about P1 billion. BHC stated that title deeds do not come from them and they are waiting only on the Ministry of Lands,” Phologolo alleged.
When responding to the sabotage allegations raised against the ministry, deputy permanent secretary for lands management Odirile Mabaila confirmed that there are applications that are still on their desk.
“It is true that there are title deed applications that are still held up on our end. We had made a template which was uploaded in the system, which the Land Board was to transact within that template for facilitation. But when land boards were transacting in the system, they changed the template, and we now could not facilitate something contrary to what the minister has approved. That’s what caused the delay,” Mabaila said.
In response to the answer provided, Phologolo stated that he was failing to grasp what the real challenge was, as the Bonno Housing Project was a directive from the President and should have been smooth sailing. He further pondered if the ministry was defying Boko.
“This affects all general Bonno projects and their title deeds. This was coming from the President; therefore, one would expect that everything will be smooth and titles will be availed, as not every investor will put their money into a project without security of title,” he said.
Phologolo’s cries come a few weeks after Minister of Water and Human Settlements Onneetse Ramogapi dissolved the BHC board because they are failing to deliver on the Bonno project, which has not been spared of any challenges since the groundbreaking.
After the issues raised, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Mokganedi Mokopasetso, assured PAC members that the ministry will work around the clock to issue title deeds so that the Bonno project is delivered as the government promised.