Parliament halts allocation of farms in Boteti

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Friday July 9, 2010 00:00

 

This came after Member of Parliament for Boteti South, Slumber Tsogwane tabled an urgent motion forcing the House to set aside a private Members Bill on Government Freedom of Information tabled by Gaborone Central MP, Dumelang Saleshando. Parliament has powers to preside over any matters that are of public interest.

Tsogwane said the manner in which the allocation of farms at Kaka and Sandfeld was done raises suspicions and needed to be halted so that the minister could 'inform himself on critical matters of public importance associated with the tenders as floated by the Ngwato Land Board'.

He stated that the communities living in the area have been left out, especially the Remote Area Dwellers - Basarwa - whose livelihood depends on hunting of wild animals and gathering of wild fruits.

He added that even the youth have been sidelined despite government's initiatives to empower them, which require them to acquire land. What amazed Tsogwane most was that the tenders for the farms could only be collected from the Ngwato Land Board, at a non-refundable amount of P500. He said the amount was too much for the people living in that area and far above other similar tenders that were floated in the past.

He added that the tenders were advertised in one newspaper and argued that it was not enough for people who may be interested in acquiring the farms.  The other thing, he argued, was that critical information was hidden from bidders as maps and sizes of the said farms were not made available to them.

He stated that farmers were currently using the land for communal grazing land, arguing that only bidders with plenty of money were going to win, driving these farmers off the land.

But Molefhi was not ready to accept the reasons Tsogwane advanced. He said that there was enough consultation with all stakeholders and defended the Ngwato Land Board saying they have done nothing wrong. He argued that money was not the only factor that the Land Board considers in the allocation, warning that bidders have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they would be able to develop the farms.

He, however, acknowledged that there was not enough advertising for the tenders and agreed that the time could be increased to allow for such an exercise to be done. Nevertheless the House agreed that the allocation should be halted pending further consultation and that more advertisements should be flighted in all print media so that many interested people could bid.