GCC proposes stiffer laws for matimela
Maranyane Ngwanaamotho | Tuesday January 7, 2014 16:14
Speaking to Mmegi yesterday, GCC Mayor Haskins Nkaigwa said that by end of last year, they proposed to the central government to have the Pound Act revoked and be replaced by a new and more effective legislation, the Road and Traffic Act.
The council has drafted and submitted proposed law to the Ministry of Local Government, which if accepted will declare Gaborone a livestock free zone. The proposed act will also bar parking and advertising of vehicles on the side of the roads. Nkaigwa said the proposed law will be more punitive as cattle owners will be charged P5,000 per herd of stray animals, instead of the current 50 thebe per animal per night.
“Cattle owners know that the current act allow us to auction cattle after 14 days of stay in our kraals. So what happens is that farmers wait until the 13th day to collect their livestock.
They release them once more and we impound them again for another 13 days. The circle goes on and on we can not work like that anymore,” he said.
Under the new regime, the council will not have to return the animals to its owners once impounded. Further, cattle owners can go to jail for a period of six months to a year.
To de-enact the old law, the council is engaging the Gaborone District Commissioner.
“According to the Pound Act only the District Commissioner can write to the President and ask for the act to be abolished, and this is one of the things that we are working on,” he explained.
GCC is also consulting Gaborone residents and those of neighbouring villages of Tlokweng and Mogoditshane, who because of the city encroaching on their lands, are most affected.
“We do appreciate that there are communities around the city but at the same time we can not allow for a situation where livestock roam the city. Developments like the relocation of the Diamond Trading Company from London to Gaborone demands that we do something about stray livestock,” he said.
Between October and November last year, the council impounded 800 cattle. The council has since engaged 22 temporary employees to assist council herdsmen in impounding and looking after the animals.
The council also gave two additional vehicles and two drivers to transport officers to supervise and monitor the employees. The council is further challenged by overcrowding of the kraals, which may call for the expansion of the kraals, which will come with further costs.