The Letlhakane Sub Landboard’s decision to continue ‘discriminating’ against Basarwa by not allocating them plots has fueled the ghost of the past of diamond mining companies to re-surface.
Documents seen by this publication show that despite profits that continue flowing from Orapa diamond mines to global markets, Basarwa are recalling the traumatic experience of how they lost their land to pave way for diamonds.
An organisation that represents the voices of Basarwa, Botswana Khwedom Council has written a trove of documents to Ngwato Land Board detailing how Letlhakane Sub Land allocated different plots without their input, sufficient consultation, and cultural rights violation by rejecting the applicants of Buuhe/Metsiaela ward the opportunity to be given access to ownership of their ancestral land/plots.
In one of the letters filed by Botswana Khwedom Council spokesperson, Banyatsi Salutu indicated that Buuhe/Metsiaela ward was occupied by Bakhwe who were relocated “from Orapa and Damtshaa mines paving way for developments of the mines in mid 1950s to 1965.”
“At the time most Bakhwe were hunters and gatherers and migrating looking for better areas where food and water are easily more accessible,” said Salutu.
He informed Ngwato Land Board that; “As we submitted this appeal most of the people in Buuhe/Metsiaela wards are marginalized, economically, socially and culturally as they did not participate in any government economic empowerment programme youth fund due to lack of industrial, commercial and agricultural land.”
He accused Letlhakane Sub Land Board of grossly defying their written letters and continues with the exercises of allocating all plots to waiting list applicants, “hence destroying our cultural sites, burial places and double the standards of land allocation procedures by altering words which promote tribalism, against those they found in Mogwafatshe shelters.”
Salutu said land allocation must be equally distributed amongst all communities in Botswana and many factors must be considered by Sub land board including preservation of cultural sites, burial places, spiritual areas and proper human settlement principles and upcoming future generation aspects.
“We also believe that land authority must act within the spirit of unity amongst different tribes and promote proper human settlement, acting within conformity of Tribal acts, Government policies on marginalized communities, good consultation (Merero) which Letlhakane Sub Land Board rejecting and misbelieved,” he said.
He said Letlhakane Sub Land board intentionally, grossly, negligently rejected allocating of land to the remaining batches of women, people with disability, youth and other senior citizens of Buuhe based on educational background, economic status and many more factors.
“We also believed and agree that Letlhakane Sub Land Board is not community centred institution as they refused to engage with other stakeholders such as NGOs, Civil societies, VDC, Traditional leaders especially Bogosi, Banna ba lekgotla, VDC, Land overseers in Letlhakane areas as many cases, complaints, aggravation against land board we received, compiled at our Records office hence we file this appeal on behalf of our people and community,” said Salutu.
Khwedom believes that some of the land board officials in Letlhakane “practice unethical behaviors such as tribalism, favoritism and soliciting activities against Buuhe/Metsiaela community and other unforeseen criminal activities such as missing of Land files, transfer delaying tactics, applying double standard when assisting Buuhe community.”
He added that; “We also believe that Letlhakane sub land board wanted to totally damage and destroy our cultural activities, our environment, domestic animal lives as there is no other place where our goats, chickens, donkey, cows and many more animals will be kept.”
Khwedom appealed to Ngwato Land Board leadership to investigate this matter in good faith.
“We urge the land authority to expedite process of land compensation psychologically counselling of people in Buuhe/Metsiaela due to the harms and pains they suffer while waiting for the allocation of plots, insulting words from land officials and those who were allocated plots in ancestral land of Bakhwe in Buuhe//Metsiaela ward without paying any respects to our parents who are squatters,” said Salutu. Immediate comment from Letlhakane Sub Land Board was not available.
