Africa-Press – Botswana. The State Land Act, Tribal Land Act of 2018 and the Botswana Land Policy of 2019 do not have provisions regarding the inheritance of plot applications, hence the names of applicants who die while on the waiting list for plot allocations would be taken off the list, acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Edwin Dikoloti has told Parliament.
Dr Dikoloti noted that an offer was transferred to the applicant’s estate for inheritance if a person died after their application had been accepted for offer.
He said prior to the Botswana Land Policy of 2019, the dispensation restricted access to land rights to just one spouse, making it unfavourable to spouses, particularly women.
He said the policy allowed for the surviving spouse to be considered for the same spot on the waiting list and the same approach continued in state land, which had far older waiting lists.
However, he said other family members such as children, siblings and cousins were not eligible for such practice since their ability to apply for land was not hampered in any way.
Dr Dikoloti said since everyone had equal, just and fair access to land rights under the current policy framework, he did not see the need to modify it.
He said Chapters 71-76 of the same policy provided substantially on affirmative action and land rights protection for vulnerable populations such as widows, orphans and youngsters.
He was responding to a question by Boteti West MP, Mr Sam Digwa, who had requested him to state the policy or legal rationale for not transferring the rights of the plot to the deceased applicant’s immediate family such as their children and siblings, in cases where an individual had applied for a residential or commercial plot but passes away before the allocation was finalised.
MP Digwa had also asked if the minister would consider revising the policy to ensure that families of deceased applicants were not unfairly excluded from benefiting from their relative’s application.
