Villagers threaten court action over fencing in Boteti

Khama
Khama

Khumaga and Moreomaoto residents are disputing recent utterances by the Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama to the effect that consultations has been done regarding the ongoing expansion of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, southwards into Khumaga village.

Old wounds were opened this week when Khama told Parliament a fair number of the community was addressed on the issue.  The crux of the long-standing issue between villagers in the periphery of the park and government is that consultations regarding the expansion of the fence will negatively impact on their livelihoods as the Boteti River will be enclosed in the park. 

Responding to a question in Parliament this week from Francistown South legislator, Wynter Mmolotsi, who had sought an explanation to the circumstances that led to the relocation of people away from the Boteti River, and the subsequent fencing off, Khama said, “there are no plans to relocate communities adjacent to the fence as they will benefit from utilising the river like they did before and for fishing purposes.”

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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