Gobotswang celebrates cessation of harassment

Habitat Botswana built 154 houses in Chadibe, 66 in Mathako, 74 in Machaneng and 76 in Sefhare for low-income earners at these villages on soft terms. However, by 2009 the organisation was owed P1.8 million by the beneficiaries and resorted to compelling some of them to pay by locking them out of their homes.

The communities then appealed to Habitat headquarters for cancellation of their debt pleading poverty.  However, the Director of Habitat Botswana at the time, Kabelo Setsiba, told Mmegi that only the houses of people with regular incomes or who did not otherwise have valid reasons for defaulting were locked up because no institution could write off the loans of people who had capacity to pay.