07 Jun 2016

Department of Town and Regional Planning has proposed to declare Tuli Block a planning area.

Senior urban planner at the Francistown City Council, Mr Thabo Chinyolo, informed councillors during the on-going Palapye Sub-council meeting that the declaration of planning area was provided for under the Town and City Planning Act of 2013.

He said the proposal to make Tuli Block a planning area was to ensure the upright use of land.

He informed councillors that Tuli Block was a land covering 800 000 hectares stretching from Tuli Circle (Bobirwa  Sub-district) to Radisele Pan in Mahalapye.

Mr Chinyolo said the area had a fertile soil and rich in vegetation and had Safari tourism activities.

He said inside the Tuli Block was Lentswelemoriti which has a primary school, kgotla and other social services.

He informed the sub-council that proposal for declaration of Tuli Block planning area came about after realising that developments in Tuli Block were undertaken without planning permission as the area was not a planning area and therefore there was no development control.

Mr Chinyolo further said Tuli Block was gazetted as an area with most fertile soil thus increasing in safari tourism has an impact on the environment, and environmentally there is no assessment as evidenced by developments on the river buffer.  

Mr Chinyolo said due to the declaration of Tuli Block as a planning area there will be controlled and guided developments in the area.

For his part Councillor Richie Kenosi of Boikago-Madiba ward said people should have access to Limpopo River so there should be an access road to the river.

When responding to questions and comments, Mr Chinyolo said no one’s land would be taken.

He said the as planning area would help in identifying problems of infrastructure and help in taking such infrastructure to the community to help in production. ENDS