Tlokweng land raffle case deepens

Mpho Mokwape | Friday July 4, 2014 06:59

 

The land board claims the policy document dates back to 2007 and allows any Motswana access to land wherever they are and regardless of their place of origin, thus justifying the raffle system. 

Using the policy document, the land board raffled 285 plots at random to more than 20,000 applicants in 2012, without any reservation being made for Batlokwa.

At the Land Tribunal yesterday, the 17 applicants challenging the land board, demanded a verified copy of the policy document, saying the land authority had thus far submitted only a draft.

The case has bounced back and forth between the Tribunal and the High Court since the land board raffled the plots and incensed Tlokweng landseekers.

Attorney for the applicants, Tshiamo Rantao, said they were not certain about the policy document as its origin had never been established and was yet unproven as being admissible in court.

Rantao said the issue of the document’s veracity was raised at the High Court and the verified copy was yet to be made available or verified by a court.

“We are simply asking that the land board submit the policy document to the court for its verification before we can file our heads of argument,” said Rantao. Rantao said since the Board had said the policy document was with the South East District Council, the local authority should also be cited in the proceedings as a second respondent, as the Board has been basing its argument on the document.

Land board attorney, Tshiamo Motsumi, said his clients had no problem with the applicants wanting the document verified or approved.

Land Tribunal judges ordered the two parties to request that the South East District Council be joined to the proceedings and that the respondents file any document or other material in respect of the 2007 policy.