Palapye landowners urged to peruse draft valuation roll
Johannes Kambai | Friday August 28, 2026 15:50
Officials at the Palapye District Council warned land proprietors not to wait until the roll was officially announced and urged them to use the period between August 7 and September 4, 2026 to peruse the document. “Do not wait until the valuation roll is gazetted before engaging with the Council,” the District Council Chairman, Kabo Ketshogile, said on Thursday at a press conference in Gaborone. “This is the time to participate.” He appealed directly to commercial and industrial owners at the peri-urban village and those currently staying in Gaborone or elsewhere in the country not to assume the Council already holds all relevant property details. “Their participation matters. Their information matters.” Under the public commentary window, owners of business plots, commercial, industrial and other rateable properties are to log queries, corrections or additional information via the dedicated platform Palapye.thevalua.com before the roll is finalised. Council officials stated that data collection, land records and field inspections are complete while the draft roll has been integrated into the valuation software. The final roll is targeted for September, subject to smooth processing of public input. Palapye, one of the fastest growing villages in the country, was declared a rateable area by the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs in May 2024. The valuation exercise, which began with stakeholder consultations in August 2025, is designed to produce a credible and equitable roll that will form the legal basis for levying rates once the necessary by-laws are in place. Collection will not begin automatically upon gazetting. Ketshogile stressed that the project supports Botswana’s wider decentralisation and local revenue-enhancement agenda. A strong valuation roll, he said, will give the Council a sustainable funding base to improve service delivery. During the same media briefing, the chairman announced key resolutions from the August 2026 Full Council meeting. He cited them as urgent calls for Ministry funding of a modern engineered landfill, procurement of a fire engine, repair of rain-damaged internal roads, and constructive dialogue between the Ministry of Health and nurses on the call-to-duty issue to protect uninterrupted health services. “The Council remains committed to transparency and public participation throughout the valuation process,” he added.