Tlokweng Land Board settles double allocation case out-of-court

GREG KELEBONYE
Staff Writer | Thursday September 16, 2010 00:00

 

Mogopodi took the Land Board to the Land Tribunal after Universal Builders was given land that had been allocated to him.

The two parties have agreed to settle the matter out-of-court. The case dates back some six years ago when Mogopodi learnt about the double allocation.

Plot 3389, situated at Selokwaneng, was allocated to Mogopodi some time in 1991, under a 50-year lease. He paid the rates every year but in 2004, he realised the land had been allocated to Universal Builders. The Land Board said it mistakenly made a double allocation because there were no developments on the land or any indication that there was a plot in the location.

The Land Board did not know about this until it received a complaint from Mogopodi. The Land Board chairperson, Thapedi Matlapeng said after considering the case, they concurred that there was a double allocation and Mogopodi did not develop the plot within the required period.

The Land Board then decided to give him an alternative plot. 'We were even flexible to have him decide if he wanted to change the nature of business he wanted to do,' Matlapeng said.

He explained that they decided to relocate Mogopodi because Universal Builders had already commenced development in the area. Universal Builders, were allocated the land together with burrow pits behind it. The company has since put up a multi-residential development in the area. It plans to build a school on the plot that Mogopodi was initially allocated, said Matlapeng.

Mogopodi had in his submission trashed the Land Board's suggestion that he failed to develop the land in time.

'I had asked for a bigger plot - a 150m x 100m plot and they gave me a 20x40. The reason I delayed was because I had written to them asking for an extension and I could not commence development as that needed a bigger plot,' he said. That plot would include the burrow pits that were ultimately awarded to Universal Builders together with the plot.

Mogopodi's witnesses, former Land Board chairperson Mashiakgomo Gaborone and his then deputy, Molefhe Seitshiro were able to pin-point where the plot was - part inside a boundary wall built by Universal and part into some of the multi-residential developments already standing in the area. The Land Board has offered to settle the matter out of court.

'Mogopodi will also be refunded all monies  he paid for the lease rental following discovery of the double allocation and the Land Board's decision that he should not pay,' Matlapeng said. He stated that the Land Boards advice to Mogopodi not to pay the rental did not reach the revenue office on time.

Mogopodi has been offered either of two plots, both of which are slightly bigger than the initial allocation. One is 850m2, ¼while the other is 847m2. The parties are to go back to the Land Tribunal to record consent. Land Tribunal judges Simon Rapinyana and Mokolobetsi Mathake led by Sampa Chuma heard the case.