Ngwato Land Board Concedes Allocations Delays
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Monday January 20, 2020 15:58
However, it has dismissed as false reports that it is failing to address complaints by Pilikwe residents regarding the conduct of Sefhare Sub-Land Board.
This follows a poison pen critique of Ngwato Land Board by Pilikwe Kgosi Gasebalwe Seretse in a Letter to the Editor, which was published by The Monitor.
In the letter, Seretse who is said to be an ex-officio member of the Board said he was disappointed “at how Sefhare Sub-Land Board and its parent body Ngwato Land Board have been handling land issues pertaining to my village, Pilikwe”.
He accused the authorities of mismanaging land in Pilikwe and that his people were given a raw deal.
“Ngwato Land Board has at some point allocated a piece of land for radioactive materials storage facility despite the protests of our people and the matter was only resolved when the Pilikwe community decided to take it to court. Sefhare Sub-Land Board has last allocated residential, business and civic plots in Pilikwe in 2015 despite repeated calls to do so and their lame excuse is that they are still working on the layout of the village,” he said.
This, he said, has hampered the growth of his village. Seretse further complained that Sefhare Sub-Land Board has over the years encouraged encroachment of Pilikwe by neighbouring villages like Lecheng and Radisele. He stated that this has ended with double allocations, but both the main Land Board and sub-Land Board have consistently refused to redress such issues.
He indicated that he has tried to engage the Ngwato Land Board Secretary, Ngwato Land board Chairperson, Sefhare Sub-Land Board Secretary and Sefhare Sub-Land Board Chairperson and the Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services to address these issues but in vain. “Over the years, the sub-Land Board has failed to provide general services to the people of Pilikwe and the Ngwato Land Board has failed to intervene.
In conclusion, one can safely say that both the Ngwato Main Land Board and Sefhare sub-Land Board have dismally failed the Pilikwe community because of their poor land management skills. I believe that even the Dikgosi in the olden times could manage land better than Ngwato Land Board.”
However, Ngwato Land Board Public Relations Officer, Mompati Malete said there has never been any complaint regarding Sefhare Sub Land Board from Pilikwe Community, but said they receive some enquiries from individuals regarding delays on allocation of land.
He said there are delays in land allocation but explained that they have already submitted the base maps to the District Council which is the Planning Authority (Council Physical Planning Unit) for design of plot layouts.
“We have received enquiries from individual members of the public and we have enlightened them about the procedure and challenges we are currently facing in land administration. In the case of land disputes the Board investigate and address disputes in its monthly meetings,” said Malete.