It is obvious that the 13 votes for the motion came from fellow opposition MPs. Before the motion was put to the vote some Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) MPs like Botsalo Ntuane and Major General Moeng Pheto supported the motion wholeheartedly. In fact, Ntuane was extremely honest in his support of the motion. He said, "It is sad to see Batswana fighting for land in Tlokweng when foreigners own huge chunks of land in the country. I know of no Motswana who owns land in China, India or Nigeria. At the very least, limit the number of plots a foreigner can own in the country." He then reminded his colleagues that land politics have the potential to destabilise a country as seen elsewhere. Zimbabwe is a universal study of how the socio-politico and economy of a thriving country could easily be screwed to its knees if the land problem is not resolved soberly. Saleshando had this in mind when he tabled this important motion to the chagrin of the BDP front bench. In Botswana there are classic examples of misallocation of land due to unlawful conduct. The 2004 Commission of Inquiry exposed such irregularities in allocation of land in Gaborone. The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) undertook an investigation and two people - one a rich foreigner and the other a high-ranking public servant - were brought before the courts. Unfortunately, due to some blunders on the part of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the two were discharged and acquitted. We believe there is still a need to conduct similar inquiries throughout the country. This country is sitting on a time bomb. In order to avoid the explosive situation, a similar inquiry particularly in areas such as Gantsi, Francistown, Ngamiland and Kasane, is sorely needed.
Botswana is a strange country. This is the only country in the world that a foreigner, who has been here for less than 25 years, owns more than 800 plots. Despite obvious cases of illegal land dealings and land grabbing by powerful people, nothing is happening to bring this to order. Ditshwanelo Centre for Human Rights has observed the following about land rights in Botswana. "It is becoming increasingly difficult for Batswana to receive a second allocation of land from a Land Board. As land is exchanged based on the value added to the land, such as the value of buildings. Unscrupulous individuals are buying land from villagers for a small amount based on the poor quality of the hut(s) on the land, and then able to develop the land for business or tourism purposes. Even where the full value of the building is paid to the villager (which is not always the case, many are cheated even of this), it is insufficient to compensate for the fact that s/he is unlikely to receive any further land allocation and will be forced into greater poverty". Back to Saleshando's land audit motion, it is disheartening to note that despite the fact that the majority of BDP MPs agreed with the principle of the motion, they were forced by powerful individuals within the party leadership to vote against it. We suspect that these powerful individuals are guilty and complicit to illegal land allocation and land grabbing. History will judge the BDP very harshly.
