19 May 2013

Botswana Congress Party (BCP) is concerned about the numerous land problems in the country.

Speaking at the end of a demonstration that the party organised to protest against what they said was unfair land distribution, BCP leader, Mr Dumelang Saleshando, said many Batswana still waited for over 10 years to own plots whereas some companies and individuals owned hundreds of plots.

He said in Francistown, more than 700 hectares of land were owned by Tati company, but some people waited for over 14 years before they could get one plot. Mr Saleshando said should the ruling party come up with the right policies, the land owned by Tati company could address the problem of land shortage in Francistown.

He said if his party could be voted into power, it would negotiate with companies, such as Tati, that owned chunks of land to avail it to the rest of the citizens, failure to which the companies would be taxed for keeping undeveloped land.

The BCP leader said it was disappointing that Botswana with its population of two million had a problem of land, yet France, which was almost the same size and a population of 65 million did not have a similar problem. “This is a clear indication that Botswana Democratic Party  (BDP) government’s way of allocating land is skewed,” he added.

Mr Saleshando alleged that BDP’s failure to run an institution such as Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) was a clear indication that entrusting it with a resource such as land was a mistake.

Another speaker, BCP publicity secretary, Mr Taolo Lucas said his party wanted Batswana to understand that land belonged to all of them and therefore had equal rights over it. 

He said there was unequal treatment of citizens holding different land rights because those who owned freehold land kept it for years without developing it but others were given a specific period after which it was reposed if undeveloped.

Mr Lucas said should his party be voted into power, it would ensure that the same processes were applied to everybody as they had equal rights over land. ENDS