Bakgatla leaders want land board Scrapped

  • Kgosi Senai wants land board officers and members fired and replaced
  • Council chairman Molokwe says they are there for themselves

TEFO PHEAGE

The Deputy Kgosi of BaKgatla Bana Sekai and the Chairman of Kgatleng District Council Daniel Molokwe have called for an overhaul of Kgatleng Land Board which they accuse of failing to serve its intended purpose.
The call by two of the most powerful men in Kgatleng follows widespread criticism of the land board which has been marred by corruption allegations.
But the land board rejects this, saying the trouble is that being in the vicinage of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, makes Kgatleng the target of land speculators and gentrification.
Not so, says Kgosi Sekai. “The only remedy to challenges faced by the land board is to fire, transfer and rehire,” he said at a kgotla meeting addressed by the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Kefentse Mzwinila in Kgatleng last week.
Council chairman Molokwe reinforced this when he said he could attest to the fact that land board officers and members serve themselves and not the tribe. He cited an area at Marokolwane farmlands that he alleged is largely owned by land board officials and members.
After hearing these concerns, the minister promised to investigate and promised that the relevant department would work around the clock to improve services. He mentioned some challenges that he said were faced by land boards and asked leaders in Kgatleng to exercise more patience.