MP Calls For Mogoditshane Sub-Land Board Closure
Pini Bothoko | Monday August 14, 2017 15:50
Kgoroba revealed that the Land Board is currently overwhelmed with a backlog, something that has resulted in poor service delivery.
Kgoroba was addressing Land Board executives in a meeting that was held at the village’s main Kgotla recently. He said this before the residents who had flocked the Kgotla in high numbers to get first hand information on when they will be allocated plots.
Allocation of plots in Mogoditshane is still on suspension as the Sub Land Board is still facing the challenge of allocating land to 140,000 applications in the waiting list dating back to 1994. The Land Board has since indicated that it will not be open to new applications until the backlog has been cleared.
“I am concerned that you are failing to assist residents of Mogoditshane appropriately. I have discovered that your office is overwhelmed and faced with a huge backlog, something that calls for immediate solution,” he said.
“The only solution is for your offices to be closed temporarily at least for six months to allow employees to attend to the backlog because it has since resulted in poor service delivery by your organisation,” Kgoroba said. He said the Land Board office is under staffed something that has also contributed immensely to their current situation.
“It’s been years the Mogoditshane residents have been waiting patiently for plots allocation but to date you do not have exact answers to them because you are faced with challenges with the issue of backlog,” Kgoroba said.
He said the organisation needs extra hands, calling for the government to consider employing temporary officers to respond to the crisis they are faced with.
“There are well-trained people who have retired, but still capable of being employed on contracts to assist the limping office in handling their backlog,” Kgoroba said, He said that there are some residents of Tsolamosese and Nkoyaphiri struggling without electricity and water in their homes because their plots are not officially registered by the Land Board.
“Those people were pardoned by President Ian Khama back in 2008, but to date your office is failing to provide them with the certificates of their residential plots. Some people have long applied for residential plots but to date they are still waiting. I suspect this might be the reason of some people now resorting to squatting, ” Kgoroba said.
Mogoditshane Sub Land Board secretary, Anthony Bashingi had earlier on revealed that they are faced with a lot of work at their offices, something that has affected their service delivery.
“We are currently investigating 300 cases of fraud. We are also overwhelmed with squatters and cases of corruption that need to be attended to,” Bashingi said.