Chobe District (Part 7)

This week we continue our historical outline of developments in the Chobe District. In our last instalment, we had noted that in 1935 the Susman Brothers began exploiting a timber concession in the northern quarter of the Chobe District with a sawmill and operational headquarters located at Serondella.

They subsequently sold their timber rights to Chobe Concessions Ltd., which was active in the region from 1944 to 1956. Altogether a total of 6.8 million cubic feet of hardwood, notably Rhodesian mahogany and teak, was extracted from the concession during the period, from which the Bechuanaland Protectorate Government received a total of 44,000 pounds in royalty revenues.

During the time of the Concessions' operations, Serondella grew into a town of just over 3,000 whose amenities included a cinema, beer hall, and retail outlets, as well as an airstrip.

Editor's Comment
Gov’t, Balete should bury the hatchet

The acrimony that seemingly characterised the relationship between the Malete Land Board on behalf of the Botswana government and Kgosi Mosadi Seboko and the tribe, should now be water under the bridge as the tribe has finally gotten what it has been fighting for - the land.Kgosi Mosadi has articulated an instance upon which she was allegedly summoned to the State House by the Head of State, Mokgweetsi Masisi where the former claimed she was...

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