Lentswe-la-Baratani to transform into national heritage site
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Thursday November 30, 2017 18:16
Museums director, Gaogakwe Phorano told a kgotla meeting here yesterday that the transformation, which involves fencing a significant portion of the area, would lead to tourism development in the area.
“The land around Baratani and related hills is tribal land. The idea and desire of the Department is to request for the entire hill scope from the boundaries with Police College to the southern hills so that this becomes a protected heritage area (core area).
“In this way the protected heritage area will allow the development of infrastructure that adds value to the heritage tourism of the area like farming, lodges of prescribed architectural details and other related infrastructure,” Phorano said.
He said under such an arrangement, the Department would be the leaseholder and the Bamalete Development Trust would be a partner utilising and deriving benefit from the leased area on behalf of the community.
Phorano said that consultations are ongoing with all Bamalete dikgosi on the matter.
“The reason why we asked the government for P15 million is because we want to fence and develop the area,” he said.
“The community and government will discuss the issue of how to share percentages share just like what happened with the Tsodilo community trust.
“If these funds are not used for a long period, government will take them back.”
Speakers at the kgotla said while said they were not against the planned developments, they were unhappy that process had thus far kept ordinary villagers in the dark.
“Consultation cannot be done for dikgosi only,” Busang Mosarwa said.
“It is important to hold kgotla meetings when these kind of decisions are made. The painful thing about our area is that we do not have a grazing area because Police College has taken the area we used before.
“We have been taking our cattle for grazing at Baratani area but now we will be left with nothing,” Mosarwa said.
Another villager, Asarwe Moroka said there was need for a task team to be formed, which would negotiate on behalf of the tribe to secure a portion within the Baratani area for grazing.
“This is necessary because the Land Board may not agree to look for land for Balete to take their cattle to,” Moroka said.