Mokalake suspends debate on sectional bill

Gothataone Moeng | Friday July 25, 2014 16:50

The House had worried that if passed, the bill would go against current policy and make it possible for foreigners to buy Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) properties.

On Wednesday, Mokalake deferred the bill pending further consultations following Gaborone Central MP Dumelang Saleshando’s question on whether the proposed bill would not clash with the policy that reserves the sale of BHC properties to citizens.

The bill seeks to give citizens priority in buying sectional units.

It makes it mandatory for any property developer to give Batswana the first option to buy a unit within a building – whether existing, newly built or in the process of being developed. However, the proposed bill also makes it possible for non-citizens to buy the units if a developer can prove that citizens failed or refused to accept the sale offers within a specified timeframe.

As the bill did not differentiate between private property developers and the state-owned BHC, some MPs were concerned that this would give non-citizens access to BHC properties.  This is in direct contradiction to the current policy in which BHC only sells property to citizens, as part of the corporation’s mandate to provide housing for Batswana.

This week, Gaborone Central MP Dumelang Saleshando called the Sectional Amendment (Title) Bill “regressive” and “deceitful” as on the surface it seems to make it easier for citizens to buy property, but also makes it possible for non-citizens to buy property that was previously reserved for Batswana.

“I don’t think any law that is removing the current policy of barring foreigners from buying BHC units is a progressive law.  I think it’s regressive,” he said in his debates yesterday.

The BHC, a parastatal owned solely by government, is often criticised for failing in its mandate to provide affordable housing for citizens, as its properties are priced at market rates.