Mokalake warns landboard members against corruption
Maranyane Ngwanaamotho | Tuesday April 29, 2014 11:51
Mokalake said this yesterday the induction of more than 170 new members from seven landboard in the southern part of the country.
The minister said landboardmembers should be vigilant as they could be approached by unscrupulous land-seekers. “You endorse it (corruption) because it is not from within the landboard,” he said.
He said, “It started with two clients who agreed on an illegal transaction and they come to you to endorse it.
“Watch out for these because at the end it is the landboard that appears to be corrupt. Watch out for those forged papers.”
Mokalake said the ‘adopted corruption’ mirrored the landboard negatively due to the endorsement it carried.
The minister told the new board members to recuse themselves from matters that directly affect them or their family members.
“Declare your interest and recuse yourselves from situations where you are compromised,” he advised.
Mokalake also blasted what he said was a tendency among landboards to boast about “backlogs” instead of issuing land. He said backlogs are a sign of ineffectiveness.
“Your main duty is to issue land. If you are not issuing out land then you are not doing your work. Let us not boast about the kinds of backlogs we have,” he said.
He also slammed some landboards for shying away from taking decisions or solving grievances and instead sending land-seekers back and forth for years.
“We are handling queries where for five years clients have been sent forth and back on an issue. Stop shying away from resolving grievances in fear of losing relationships,” he said.
He advised landboards to make use of attorneys who could advise on grievances in order for proper decisions to be made. If the attorneys fail, Mokalake said, the landboards could always refer the matter to ministry attorneys who would also advise.
“If ministry attorneys fail, the matter can be taken to the Attorney General for advice,” he said.
“The ultimate goal is that a matter should be resolved even if the clients are not happy with the decision. At least you would have made a decision. It is much better than for a case to drag for years without a conclusion,” he said.
Mokalake encouraged the new members to exemplify the spirit of botho, where elders, the sick and the disabled are given priority, as they cannot wait for long hours for help. He said where possible, officers should be sent to help people in their houses.
“It is not wrong to send trustworthy officers to an elders’ home if a signature is needed for an example. It is not a favour. It is out of respect that you would do that,” he continued.