A nationwide land audit will review allocations by Land Boards and examine MPs, councillors and Tribal Administration officials in the allocation process
BONGANI MALUNGA
Parliament has approved a motion to conduct a nationwide forensic land audit, aimed at scrutinizing land allocations made over the past 15 years.
The audit seeks to ensure transparency, accountability and equitable distribution of land across the country amid reports of illegal land allocation, insider dealing, corruption and maladministration.
Championed by the Member of Parliament for Mogoditshane East, Letlhogonolo Barongwang, the nationwide land audit will scrutinize all land allocations, encompassing the activities of Land Board officials, employees, councillors, MPs and senior staff within Tribal Administration.
COMPREHENSIVE
While the motion originally aimed to examine land allocations in Mogoditshane, parliamentary deliberations highlighted the necessity of a comprehensive audit extending to all Land Boards across the country. The audit will cover five tenures of the past Land Board officials and three political terms since 2010.
OBJECTIVE EXAMINATION
Commenting in absentia, the Acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Edwin Dikoloti highlighted the need for independent and objective examination of land transitions in Mogoditshane and other areas of the country.
COMPLAINTS
“Our ministry has received representations from individuals and groups registering complaints against the Mogoditshane Land Board. Allegations of the involvement of the mentioned parties (officials) in the motion do exist. Internal audits have revealed issues of plots with no evidence of allocations, double allocations and abandoned plots or those that remain undeveloped for many years as well as encroachments,” Dikoloti stated.
UNEARTHED BY THE AUDIT
“It is my considered view that whatever happened and who overdid it and how it happened and whether it was illegal will be unearthed by the forensic audit. The audit is expected to further address the impact or lack thereof of the administration reforms instituted in an effort to address these challenges,” the minister concluded.