Africa-Press – Botswana. A layout for Sankoyo settlement has been approved and is awaiting completion of the strategic environmental assessment, says Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Mabuse Pule.
He said the allocation of residential plots in Sankoyo was on hold pending completion of the assessment of the layout design. He said the exercise had delayed due to lack of funds to carry out the environmental assessment, but that funds had now been disbursed to the district council for the project.
He said a tender to undertake the assessment was awarded, but that the successful contractor failed to perform as expected and was subsequently terminated.
“The district council has re-advertised the tender, which will close on 3rd August 2023 and it is expected that within a month after closure of the tender, a competent consultant would have been identified to carry out the assessment,” he said.
Regarding tribal land increase in Mababe, Mr Pule said the village was located in an ecologically sensitive environment, and that a change in its administration and management required that all matters be addressed before a decision could be reached.
“Due to the sensitivity of the area and the stakeholders to be engaged, it has taken longer than anticipated. Government is committed to put to rest the Mababe land tenure and its associated issues. Once all matters are resolved a decision will be made,” he said.
Concerning Phuduhudu settlement, he explained that there was an existing layout, whose strategic environmental assessment was in place and had been re-tendered from 19 July till August 3.
He said the current residential application list for Phuduhudu was 428 against the population of 679 as per the population and housing census of 2022. He added that there was an estimated 272 existing residential plots and that 434 plots were expected to be allocated.
“It is evident that the population has now outgrown the land. Consequently, 706 plots would have been availed in Phuduhudu, which is more than the existing population,” said Mr Pule.
He pointed that a proportion of tribal land had progressively increased overtime from 49 per cent in 1966 to approximately 71 per cent through the conversion of state and freehold land.
He noted that freehold land was approximately three per cent, having progressively diminished from five per cent since 1966 due to conversion of freehold to state and tribal land.
He said over the same period, state land had reduced from 46 to 26 per cent due to the conversion of rural state land into tribal land.
He said government was committed to bringing services to land parcels where funds permitted, adding that there were no plans to increase state land in big and strategic villages. Mr Pule was answering on behalf of the Minister of Lands and Water Affairs.
Maun East MP, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile had asked the minister to state efforts made to resolve the impasse faced by different communities to access land for different purposes. In particular, he wanted to know why the Sankoyo community had not been allocated plots for the past five years.
He also wanted to know measures and timelines in place to tribalise Mababe and increase tribal land in Phuduhudu.
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