National spatial plan nears completion-Mzwinila
The Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation, Kefentse Mzwinila said Wednesday that the establishment of 11 new planning regions as some of the initiatives for the implementation of the National Spatial Plan (NSP) 2036 is almost complete. He told Parliament that as part of the NSP implementation, preparations of Molepolole, Tlokweng and Kasane development plans have been completed and approved.
The plans therefore, according to the minister, consist of a total of 1,837 plots for Molepolole, 5,200 plots for Tlokweng, and 39 high density and mixed-use plots for Kasane. He added that his ministry is also undertaking the Gaborone City Development Plan (GCDP) with a development span of 24 years, {2022 – 2046}.
“The plan will elevate Gaborone into a vibrant city with improved mobility, better urban amenities, inclusive and livable neighbourhoods, and greater housing choices to accommodate a larger population. The project commenced in February 2022 and it is planned to be completed in June 2023,” he said. On other developmental issues, Mzwinila added major development plans being Maun Development Plan and Segoditshane River Corridor Master Plan are at draft stages and will be completed by June 2022. Moreover, he said the Francistown Development Plan is at the procurement stage while the declaration of Kweneng and Southern Districts as planning areas was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since it involves consulting different communities through Kgotla meetings which were not possible under the circumstances.
On the issue of surveying and land registration, the minister said for arable fields, the processes are delayed because of complexities in ascertaining land rights. “Surveying of arable fields is a massive task since most of the beacons for the fields are either inaccessible, invisible or non-existent. Furthermore, the extent of the fields will in most cases, go far beyond the cultivated or fenced areas. The exercise is intended to be started as a pilot phase in certain parts of the country.
To date, one Land Board (Tlokweng) has started the exercise and the intention is to use the lessons learnt from the project as we roll it out countrywide,” he said. Mzwinila, however, said he was delighted to report that from April 2022 they shall commence issuing Secure Land Titles (SLTs) after passing through the hurdles that delayed the process in the current financial year. He also said issuance of SLTs will be a key milestone for a good land administration system that guarantees ownership and security of land tenure, facilitates access to secured credit, and also supports land and property taxation. On another issue regarding land allocation, he said during the financial year 2021/2022 they allocated a total of 19,195 un-serviced residential plots in tribal areas against the targeted 26,624. The minister said in urban areas, 653 plots were allocated and 511 are at different stages of the allocation process. He said the target for urban areas was 1,858. In addition, he said while the requirements for land servicing especially in tribal areas have been waived, some legislative and policy requirements, as well as challenges relating to the processes involved in preparing the land for allocation (land acquisition, planning, assessment and surveying), continue to deter their efforts towards expediting the land allocation process.