Kgalagadi Land Board under fire
Zolani Kraai | Thursday August 14, 2014 16:39
This was revealed by one of the settlement elders Elias Moreokae during a Kgotla meeting addressed by Kgalagadi District Council officials. Moreokae accused the land board of stalling the recognition issue, which has dragged on for many years now.
“The current land board is not eager to assist us in regularising the settlement. This is contrary to what their predecessors had recommended in 2006, hence the council resolved to recognise our settlement by providing the necessary amenities,” charged Moreokae.
Another speaker, Maria Dipone said she was unimpressed with the attitude exhibited by certain land board officials.
She said they would not be part of the Vision 2016 celebrations, as they don’t embody the vision. “We deserve a better future.
We have lost hope of having our land recognised because the land board and District Commissioner don’t seem eager to work with us,” she stressed. Dipone also decried poor service delivery, adding that they have no access to government schemes.
When responding to the accusations, the Kgalagadi Sub Land Board chairperson Tuelo Moseki stated that some of the people in the area are squatters. He also advised residents not to allow more individuals to settle there without land board approval.
Council chairperson Frans Van Der Westerhuizen emphasised the need to have McCarthy’s Rust recognised as a settlement but noted that due to the recommendations from the District Land Use Planning Unit (DLUPU) and the Central Statistics 2011 population census report, it could not be among those considered.
McCarthy’s Rust has 217 instead of the 500 people needed for it to be recognised as a settlement.