Beggars on streets of diamonds :: Mmegi Online

Recently, the country’s first study on poverty at village level, revealed Jwaneng to be second richest settlement, with the shiny stones first discovered in 1972 adding extra weight to residents’s pockets. Mmegi Correspondent, LEBOGANG BAINGAPI, here uncovers no less than 200 squatters living on the diamond-paved streets

The problem of squatting has grown in leaps and bounds since the establishment of Jwaneng Township 34 years ago. Annually, hundreds of people make the pilgrimage to the mining town with hopes of securing employment at the mine or associated businesses and not everyone is lucky. In 2012, the Jwaneng Town Council evicted scores of squatters and today the numbers are even higher.

A preliminary survey conducted recently by the council’s Physical Planning Division has revealed that there are currently more than 200 squatters within the Jwaneng planning area, with the majority living within the built-up areas, especially in the A2 industrial site. The squatters live in areas where there is no potable water supply, sanitation and sewage facility.

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