Govt acquires Tati Company land
To address land shortage in North east district
Member of Parliament for Tati West, Simon Mavange has commended the government for acquiring land previously owned by Tati Company in the Francistown area, to address land shortage in the North East District.
In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) this Monday, President Mokgweetsi Masisi announced that his government has acquired thousands of hectares of land from Tati Company.
Masisi said the development control code of 2013 is being reviewed to reduce restriction on land development.
“The government has since independence used every available opportunity to reform our land tenure systems. The forum includes the acquisition of freehold land for village expansions, township developments and provisions of grazing land to communities.
“The North East District is one of the districts which has experienced shortage of land due to the existence of freehold farms especially in the hands of the Tati Company Limited,” Masisi said.
President Masisi said that government has made a decision to acquire the remaining land belonging to the company, measuring about 45,000 hectares.
“The decision demonstrates our commitment to avail land to Batswana for socio-economic development and attainment of the aspirations of Vision 2036.”
In an interview with The Midweek Sun, Mavange said the chunk of the freehold land owned by Tati Company is not developed while many Batswana are without residential plots.
He noted that there are constant accusations by local authorities, residents of Francistown and the North East District who accuse Tati company of having taken huge chunks of land during the colonial days from the natives.
This situation led to shortage of land in those areas. The company has also been accused of not developing the land as some of the land is lying idle and under-utilised.
Tati Company Limited is a British company owned by the Bennet Glazer Will Trust, incorporated in South Africa.
Formerly known as Tati Concession Limited, Tati Company was initially owned by the British businessman Cecil John Rhodes and the company’s main interest was to explore for gold.
European businessman Bennet Glazer bought the company from Rhodes in 1954 when it was liquidated.