�Batlokwa responsible for own demise
Isaiah Morewagae | Friday April 4, 2014 15:22
Addressing a Kgotla meeting in the village yesterday Khama admitted that there is serious shortage of land in the village but apportioned blame to some residents for their own demise.
Khama said according to the number of land transactions that took place between 2010 and last year, a total of 843 were transferred from Batlokwa residents to non-residents.
“I do not understand why those who want to transfer their land rights give them to people coming from outside Tlokweng. It would make more sense if one was to give a fellow Motlokwa such a plot,” Khama said.
He emphasised that government is still working on modalities to come up with a quota of plots to be allocated to residents of a particular place. In this instance plots allocated to Batlokwa compared to those to be allocated to non-residents.
“We understand that as Batswana we have a constitutional right to reside anywhere you choose to stay.
However, we want to come up with a system where a certain number of plots be reserved for the locals. We want to do it in such a way that it does not conflict with the constitutional provision and avoid legal tussles,” Khama said.
One of the residents, Jeffrey Matlapeng had appealed to the President to help in having Batlokwa given preferential treatment when there are plots to be allotted.
Matlapeng told Khama that the Tlokweng land situation is so dire that there was also a court case involved. He said as Batlokwa they felt hard done by the Tlokweng Landboard as it had sidelined most locals and awarded available plots to people originating outside of Tlokweng.
On other matters, Khama vowed to send a delegation headed by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Peter Siele.
The delegation will look into whether they can set up a boundary fence to divide Gaborone and Tlokweng.
Tlokweng residents had asked Siele whether it would be possible for the fence to be constructed to avoid their livestock from straying into the city.
Siele initially told residents that the move would not be possible as Tlokweng and Gaborone are planning areas, but was overruled by Khama during the President’s comments.