In just a few years, Tati Siding, a semi urban village in the North East District, has rapidly transformed into a township. It seems like only yester year when the village was bare with bumpy gravel roads and dominant traditional huts, making it appear forgotten and hopeless – Writes
Fifteen kilometers south of Francistown, in the North East District, rests the stunning, sleepy semi urban village of Tati Siding.
Amid the drone of cars and deafening roar of trucks cruising from Gaborone along the A1 traffic choked roads, motorists and passengers appear almost unaware of this tranquil village lying beside the road.
As one enters the village, one is almost taken aback by its contemporary structures ÔÇô imported architectural designs that appear almost out of place in a rural setting. The roads are completely tarred; water system intact and lamp posts glowing luminously, making the village eligible for semi urban status. The blaring of car horns and din of taxis shatter the tranquility of the village as the taxi men engage in their habitual wars over passengers they want to ferry to the city.
It is an almost 15 minutes’ drive from village to the second city, a journey that takes one into the clogged traffic flowing into Francistown. The hum of the traffic mingles with the sounds of the train engines to upset the resonance of the village, assaulting the ear with much noise.
Ten years ago, the village only comprised of dusty roads rutted with potholes that left motorists repeatedly regretting their foray into the village. Cracking traditional mud huts seemed to rubber stamp the idea that this village was a haven for loafers, a place where the inhabitants were living a rustic, primitive life. That was then, and this is now; it is only left for history to be told.
“Tati” as it is commonly known, has transformed into a place of only modern structures. A referral clinic has sprung up, as have two primary schools, a community junior secondary school and word among the villagers is that there will soon be an up market shopping complex and a bus rank.
Prior to the transformation of the village, one of the only things noticeable was the two rail crossings, which gained notoriety for a constant spate of accidents. Here, motorists and pedestrians men their death, a result of careless driving and human error behind the wheel.
Tati Siding was only a small isolated village scarcely mentioned in the country radio station or any media. Come early morning these days, the roads of Tati Siding tell the tales. The streets are constantly bustling with people commuting to town to fend for their families.
The night life of the village is no different from that of urban life as the bars and lodges become vibrant during the weekends. Urban folks come to the village to get a measure of peace, to get desperate village women, and to forget about the hurdles of city life.
It is a village which leaves most people in awe, a place that is continuing to gain recognition, although for many people, it lies unknown. The village has a fusion of tribes from different parts of the country who have since settled here to its proximity to the city. Private and government employees have resorted to renting houses in the village in an effort to forget the city hustles and the growing crime in Francistown. It is a place they normally refer to as a “home away from home”. The village has five wards, Mmoroso Ward, Phusumane, Gulubane, Ngwenya and lately new stance ward which is the most urbanised ward with up to date buildings.
For one to get a residential or business plot in the village one has to endure the queue of thousands of applications at the Tati land Board in Masunga. The backlog dates back to the 1990s.
Most of the people in and around Francistown prefer to buy plots to avoid the long years of waiting for the land board to allocate them.
Village chief Simon Nkgageng confidently revealed that Tati Siding is a village which has seen many rapid developments in a short period of time perhaps because it is closer to the city of Francistown. He produced a detailed plan from his cabinet which he said was approved by Minister of Lands, Nonofho Molefe about the future outlook of Tati Siding.
“As you can see, the village will have a mall, bus rank, a Senior Secondary School, Police Station and the Botswana House Corporation (BHC) will build about 540 houses in two months time,” he said as he fiddled with the documents.
Nkgageng went on to mention that, although the developments are a welcome initiative, they on the other hand also attracted bad outcomes such as crime especially among the youth. However the chief went on to add that recently the level of crime in the village has declined owing to the good working relationship between the villagers and the Police Officers at Gerald Estates.
Kopano Maruping the former Botswana People’s Party (BPP) councilor and long serving councilor of Tati Siding says that when he assumed the office in 1984, Tati Siding was merely a poor village with no water and roads. He said that the residents in Gulubane ward, which is the main ward in the village, had resorted to a concerted effort to build a borehole which only yielded salty water.
“I worked hard for the infrastructure you see today in Tati Siding, I transformed this village from a poor village to what you see today,” he said as he gazed emotionally at the lamp posts on the sidelines of the roads.
Gerald Police Station Commander, Motsholathebe Mothibi commented that that crime in Tati Siding has been growing due to the influx of illegal immigrants and the rapid urbanisation of the village. He also added that one of the factors that has propelled the crime rate in the village is its proximity to town. He said most of the crime is always linked to the criminals in the city.
Touching on the history of the village, one of the village’s reputable historians, 88-year-old John Babingane, revealed to the Telegraph that Tati Siding began as a small settlement in the early 1950s when a certain Zambian national called Mmoroso, of the Lozi tribe, worked at the railway station adjacent to the village and settled in the area. After a few years many families from Francistown and other surrounding villages began to develop interest in the village. According to Babingane, the earliest settlers of the village include the Mulalus, Dlodlos, July and the Segwabes.
“Tati Siding derives its name “Tati” from the Tati River and “Siding”, due to its position along the railway line,” he concluded.
 
URBANISATION: From a rustic area with cracking mud huts, Tati Siding has transformed into a semi urban settlement.
