30 Oct 2022

Lack of land has halted the Mababe born, Onkgomoditse Obiditswe’s efforts to start an income-generating project.

The 30-year-old Obiditswe was the first reigning king of the national Mr RADP fashion show in 2018, following a decision to include men to compete in the field of fashion, in the popular Miss RADP pageant.

The pageant is an affirmative action aimed at empowering the youth from remote areas by showcasing their beauty and talents as well as levelling the ground for their self-realisation.

Another goal of the pageant is to instil the spirit of entrepreneurship as the government had committed some funds to the crowned queen and king to establish projects of their choice.

As part of his package, Obiditswe received P25 000 to fund a project of his choice, but he said that was not to be because of lack of land. He told BOPA in an interview that he intended to start a campsite at his home village to create employment for fellow youths, but his efforts to secure a piece of land to commence the project did not bear fruit.

“My win was a lifetime opportunity and I was hopeful that I would  achieve my dream to assist my community by creating employment for my peers,” he lamented. He, however, appreciated the council for applying for land on his behalf, but sadly, the application was not acceded to as he could not be allocated land in a state land. 

The council, he said, applied again to the Department of Lands and the application was rejected on two grounds that Mababe Management Plan was not developed; and that the head lease of Mababe Trust was not availed to the community.

Obiditswe explained that the trust agreed to sub-lease a portion of its land to him to operate for five years and he engaged a consultant to develop Environmental Management Plan (EMP), conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) exercise to meet the requirements of setting a campsite.

He, however, said despite approval of the EMP and EIA by the Department of Environmental Affairs, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) advised that the management plan did not recognise the campsite at the designated site and that the trust could not sub-lease its four campgrounds. “I am not happy with the decision because the lease period is short and I am expected to pay rental of P10 000 a month. I have already spent close to P100 000 on developing EMP and conducting EIA,” he said.

Obiditswe wished the government could give a waiver and allocate him a plot so that he could turn his dream into reality or at least the trust sub-lease agreement be extended to 15 years so that he could be able to operate longer and request financial assistance to grow his project.

Lack of land, he said, undermined the government’s efforts to empower young people and promote citizen participation in the tourism industry. “These projects are intended to nurture us as beneficiaries to be responsible citizens and stand on our own. Now my dream seems to be doomed,” he said. Ends