Mushrooming of squatters worries land Ministry

Othusitse Khuwa | Tuesday April 25, 2017 16:41

 

The MLWS Permanent Secretary (PS), Thato Raphaka raised the Ministry’s concerns at the MLWS convention, which was held recently at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST).

“Firstly one person will put their shack in some piece of land (bomaipaahela) and later a group of people do the same.  Eventually, if it becomes a settlement, they name it and start demanding services and other developments such as schools and hospitals,” he said.

He added that such issues then put a strain on the Government, which is then forced to deliver the services to such settlements, costs the Ministry money it could have used for other developments.

“These are issues that should be addressed urgently least they cripple the economy of our country.

Therefore, it is up to everyone of you to stand up and fight these mushrooming settlements,” he said.

Further, the official mentioned that the Ministry is viewed as one of the most corrupt in terms of land services, therefore it was up to them to eliminate such doubt by exercising fairness.

He said that this can only be achieved when clients report any misconduct that happens at work and be the watchdogs so that those who are corrupt are dealt with.

In their response, the delegates shared the same sentiments as the PS, affirming that mushrooming of settlements remains one of the most challenging and complex issues that continue to hinder the growth of the ministry.

Ngwaketse Land Board chairperson, Mosemanegape Mophuting said that they can only manage the problem by engaging politicians and coming up with policies that forbid any more undesignated settlements.

“We need the political will to come up with policies that forbid such issues.  This is just pure land abuse and with politicians, we will be better place dto address it head on.

There are those impediments that need to be addressed provided we have the political will,” he added.

Motlhakaja Chief of Ngwato Land Board also said the settlement policy needed to be reviewed if the issue of squatters was to be addressed because people took advantage of it as it allowed settlements to be formed once a certain number of people has been be reached.

 He said that all their stakeholders should also be engaged in such issues  not for Land Boards to shoulder them alone.

He added, “We need to change focus of just allocating land, but rather see to it that the already allocated land is being used.  There should be somebody who ensures that land is being utilised”.