Africa-Press – Botswana. Plans are underway to allocate the first batch of the residential plots of the Mmopane layout by the end of September, with the survey record for the area currently at examination stage.
Answering a question in Parliament on July 8, the acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Edwin Dikoloti noted that the delays in the approval of the survey diagrams were a result of certain hindrances encountered during the examination of the survey records.
He said such challenges included the existence of ploughing fields affecting approximately 18 hectares of the layout, which had not been expropriated, but were already surveyed and had registered leases. As a result, he said another consultation had to be undertaken in December last year.
However, Dr Dikoloti noted that the consultation did not yield the needed results, hence a decision was taken in April to subtract the encumbered portions from the layout while the consultations continued. He said this reduced the number of plots from the initial 1 679 to a number to be determined by the examination or re-survey of the area. Additionally, the acting minister said the suspect in an illegal plot allocation case in Mmopane Block 1 involving 29 plots, which occurred around 2021, was taken to court and a conviction obtained.
He further noted that Mogoditshane Sub-Land Board was in possession of over 50 fraudulent certificates of residential plots in Mmopane Block 1, which were seized from the purported allottees, while the matter was being handled by the investigating agencies. The MP for Mmopane/Metsimotlhabe, Ms Helen Manyeneng had asked if the minister was aware of illegal plot allocations at Mmopane Block 1 and when allocation of plots was to be done at Mmopane village.
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