Decision on disputed land haunts minister
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday April 1, 2014 11:37
During a meeting the minister addressed in Borolong on Friday, it became evident that he had not informed other ministries and the Nwato Landboard about the ruling made in his presence and Dikgosi from Chadibe and Borolong. Sediegeng had ruled that the disputed land, popularly known as Shongochena is part of Borolong.
But last Friday, Mokalake was baffled when the headman of Shongochena, which is also known as Mpatane, expressed her disappointment with the government for freezing plot allocations in the ward for the past two years, even though he (Mokalake) had resolved the dispute.
When he tried President Ian Khama’s style of checking with officers after inquiries and complaints, Mokalake drew a blank.
Mpatane ward headman, Keletso Mpatane had queried why the land allocation freeze was still in force after so many years. Mokalake turned to Nwato Landboard deputy secretary, Otsile Ditiro for answers. The minister asked: “Why are you not allocating plots at Shongochena ward?
Ditiro replied that they are not aware that there was a ruling on the matter. He said all he knew is that the portion of land was in dispute, hence there has not been allocation of plots in the area. “I am not aware that there was a ruling that was made concerning the disputed land and I do not know that the ward is under Borolong,” declared Ditiro.
Over the years, residents of Borolong and Chadibe have laid claim to the land. In 2011, Mokalake ruled in favour of Borolong, but apparently, other ministries and government departments were not informed of the decision.
Since then, confusion has reigned.
Mpatane lamented that the dispute has made her uncomfortable such that she has decided to spend most of her time in Francistown to avoid her subjects. She said the residents wants answers which she does not have.
“In 2011, the decision was taken at my ward in the presence of the Chadibe village leadership that our ward belonged to Borolong as it has been the case.
But it looks like some ministries were not informed about the ruling. There are no developments going on in my ward because we are being told that there is still a dispute between the villages,” said Mpatane.
Perhaps taking a cue from the Mpatane headman, the Borolong Kgosi, Israel Molema pleaded with Mokalake to help them to officially announce the 2011 ruling because it delayed developments in the village.
He said they have written several letters to the Marapong Sub-Landboard and Tonota Sub-Landboard seeking explanations. “We are worried about this issue. Please help us, as we want our village to develop. At the moment, there has been no allocation of plots for two years.
New residents at the ward are confused as to where they belong, either Chadibe or Borolong, because there are people misleading them from Chadibe’s side,” he said.
He state that the development plan of the village excluded the ward because the map shows that Shongochena is under Chadibe.
In response, Mokalake said that he was not aware that the dispute has not been resolved. He promised to follow it up because he did not know what still confused people in a decision taken way back in 2011.
“I will follow it up, the decision was made and that ward is under Borolong. I was at Chadibe yesterday (Thursday). They did not complain about this issue,” said Mokalake.