Government is concerned with the high level of Batswana involvement in illicit land deals.
The concern was raised by Lands and Housing Minister, Lebonaamang Mokalake, during a Pitso Ya Lefatshe in Francistown on Monday.
Mokalake observed that there is a growing trend by Batswana to sell off their pieces of land only to re-apply later and expect government to continue re-allocating them with more pieces of land.
“This is why we have long unrealistic waiting lists at the Land Boards.┬á The waiting list, in turn, gives a false land demand rate,” said the minister.
He added that the unrealistic waiting lists as well as urban sprawl and rapid population growth have created land conflicts and resulted in encroachment of settlements into arable land, grazing land and wildlife areas.
The minister added that Francistown, just like other urban areas, has not escaped issues of urban sprawl as it is encroaching into tribal land, while the surrounding villages are extending into agricultural land.
“The other serious challenge is poor land records at the Land Boards. Some Batswana have taken advantage of the country’s weak land administrative system such that it is difficult to know who owns what and where,” Mokalake said.
He added that such a habit results in people applying for more and more land and thus increasing the waiting lists.
The minister, however, said his ministry has resolved to revise the land legislation and related regulations and policies. He pointed out that the initiatives include the review of the current Town and Country Planning Act and Development Control Code (DCC).
“The need for the review of the Development Control Code of 1995 is a reflection of the development dynamics that are being experienced in the country. These dynamics are a result of a number of factors, which include socio-economic profile of the population and the state of the economy, all of which have improved, as well as physical planning factors, which are constantly changing,” he said.
He added that as physical developments, particularly in the urban areas are becoming more complex, the ministry has found it crucial that the DCC be reviewed such that it is aligned with the current development realities.
He also said that the Ministry has ongoing land administrative programmes, such as the Land Administrative Procedures, Capacity and Systems (LAPCAS), which seeks to address challenges facing land administration and land management in the country.
“This involves re-engineering of land administration of the various land administration processes, for an example, change of land use processes which is seen to be lengthy and hindering development that is in line with market trends. Once fully operational, LAPCAS is expected to speed up processes of change of land use and will make it easier for investors to start their projects,” he said.
