Churches plead with FCC as yellow monster approaches

Pini Bothoko | Tuesday June 17, 2014 06:59

 

The Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC) has entered the fray in an effort to intercede with the FCC on behalf of its members, who form the majority of churches under threat of eviction.

OAIC president, Tebogo Motlhagodi said 84 of their member churches are among those facing possible eviction and they have been working hard to keep the Yellow Monster at bay. Nearly 140 churches were named in the court order published last week.

“We have pleaded with FCC to give our churches temporary places of worship because while we do not refuse to relocate, we would like temporary shelter where we can continue worshipping whilst waiting for plot allocations,” he said.  He said the OAIC and the FCC have formed a task force that has identified registered churches which the local authority says it will give temporary plots. 

He said he would soon hold meetings with churches to notify them about the latest developments regarding temporary plots. 

“As for those who are unregistered, and those who do not have members, they will be raided out of the city and there is nothing we can do because they are illegal,” said Motlhagodi. City Mayor, James Kgalajwe confirmed that the local authority had been holding meetings with church committees and had formed a task force. He said the task force would identify registered churches with a proven membership that have also applied for plots. Kgalajwe said only registered churches which have applied for plots would be given temporary plots, whilst the court order would be used against the remaining organisations.

“For the registered ones, we will move them to the outskirts of their locations and sign lease agreements for two years whilst waiting for plot allocation. We are going to speed up the process so that we can raid those who are not complying with the law, “ he said.

Kgalajwe said while it has been years since they allocated church plots, that did not give the churches the right to squat because it is against the law and most of their structures make the city look untidy.

Since the beginning of the year, the FCC has been warning squatting churches to vacate their illegal places of worship. Matters came to a head in February when the FCC held a meeting with the churches informing them that it intended to boot them out of their self-allocated addresses.  

Last week, the FCC advertised a High Court order with the names of squatting churches and a 14-day ultimatum to move out of the plots or risk demolition and eviction. The order further stated that churches would be required to file answering affidavits if any, and further that they are required to appoint, in the notice of opposition, an address within Botswana at which they will accept notice and service of all documents in the proceedings.