Tlokweng suspends land allocation

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday March 4, 2013 00:00

 

Thirteen Tlokweng youth, backed by the tribal authority took the matter to the land tribunal after learning that the Tlokweng landboard had allocated the 285 plots through a raffle, a system they fear will further reduce Tlokweng residents' chances of owning land in their village.

On Saturday  Tlokweng Landboard spokesman Augustine Sepoe confirmed to The Monitor that they have suspended the physical allocation of the plots pending the conclusion of the  court case.

However, he denied they were under pressure to undo the whole land allocation process, telling The Monitor they decided on their own to suspend the allocation which was scheduled for today up to Wednesday, following the interim allocation conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, which saw people being given plot numbers.

'The physical allocation has been suspended until further notice, but nothing has changed since the applicants now have plot numbers; we have only suspended the last step of the land allocation; the 13 applicants want the court to stop the entire allocation because they feel it was flawed.' A jubilant leader of the Tlokweng youth committee, Thatayaone Matlapeng said they are happy that the land tribunal reacted swiftly to attend to the matter.

However, while the Tlokweng youth and tribal leadership are up in arms against the land board, the monitor has established that the landboard this time bent backwards to try and appease Batlokwa. The Monitor has established that during the last week interviews for the 285 residential plots, one of the key requirements was that the applicant should not own any residential plot anywhere in Botswana.The Monitor can reveal that a good number of the applicants failed this test and that the Tlokweng Land Board carried out its homework well, as they were able to confidently tell applicants where they own the land.Initially the Tlokweng Landboard required that one should not have a residential plot within a 60km radius of Gaborone.

The Tlokweng Landboard PR, Sepoe confirmed the new requirement but defended it saying it does not necessarily seek to protect the interest of a particular tribe.