White Batswana farmers preferred over us - Kgosi Seipone
Hukuntsi Sub- Land board in the Kgalagadi North constituency is accused of favouring white Batswana farmers over their black counterparts when it comes to allocating farms.
The bold accusation is made by none other than Kgosi Basadibotlhe Seipone of Kang. In a wide- ranging interview with Botswana Guardian, Kgosi Seipone did not mince her words about how her subjects who are known and counted among the best cattle barons, are disadvantaged and denied the right to make huge profits by the land allocating authority in her area.
Seipone said there are many cattlerearing farmers in Kang and surrounding areas. “We have good quality beef cattle. But, our shortfall is the fact that people are not allocated farms. We are purely and mostly dependent on cattle farming. But, we are currently not maximising profits nor benefitting much as our livestock is reduced at an alarming rate by predators. “Worse still, we are not adequately compensated for our cattle which fall prey to predators. For our loss, the blame lies with the land board,” she said. She does not understand what the big problem in allocating land to locals could be, because she is aware of research that justifies why farmers had to be allocated farms. She said a commendation was made for the land board to start allocating farms to farmers, but all this has been in vain. “I am surprised here in Kgalagadi North only white Batswana have been allocated farms. I wonder what could be wrong with us black Batswana,” she said, adding that her wish is for every capable person to be allocated farms since they are a cattle- rearing community. Kgosi Seipone who at the beginning of her reign did not have it easy as some of her subjects challenged the decision to install her as the rightful heir to the throne, is now happy that the dust has settled after those concerned failed to appear in court and state their case. In her own words: “they have given up.” The courts have cleared the issue. “I feel pity for them because they are facing heavy debts as they lost with costs,” she added. Kgosi Seipone is a devoted Christian and a member of the PPC church, a holder of a Diploma in Animal Health Production from the then Botswana Agricultural College, and a Diploma in Poultry Science from the Netherlands.
She has a Diploma in Practical English and another in Hotel Management from Cambridge Tutorial College. She is the third eldest daughter in a family of eight girls of Kgosi Church and Keorapetse Edith Seipone. She has served in many government offices around the country in Serowe, Moiyabana, Kanye, Tshimoapula, Letlhakane, and Gaborone, as well as a tribal administration secretary at Bokspits Kgotla. She started her mission by sharpening her leadership skills by enrolling in Leadership Change Management with the Botswana Open University. Her vision is to be able to celebrate when she quits the throne. “The legacy that I want to leave behind is for an educated tribe. In this case, I am not only looking at academic qualifications, people should also be productive in all forms of being self- sustaining including food production,” she said.
Kgosi Seipone’s plan is to form a Trust for the tribe. This is so because the tribe has a property that could be turned into profitable avenues. These include a farm and plots. “Our area has been blessed with many natural resources that if fully exploited can be turned profitable and create the muchneeded jobs. If we are well focused we can even build a hospital for ourselves.” She draws encouragement from the fact that she saw her late father Kgosi Church Seipone leading and developing the village from nothing to a muchenvied place.
To her, this is a classical example that everything is possible where there is a visionary leader. “We need to take advantage of the strategic position of Kang. Indications are that some parastatals want to set up offices here, as well as different government departments. So we must be prepared to house them and or provide office space. “My prayer and wish are for people to see this opportunity and plan ahead.
We need to collectively approach the land board and ask them to allocate us open space plots where we can put up such businesses. My regret is, for now, the land board is just too slow to react and their reluctance to act is surely hindering developments,” she said. She believes that Kang will not quickly get developed because of government departments but rather because of investments in tourism and hospitality- related activities as they attract tourists.
Kang has two primary schools, a junior and senior secondary school respectively, the brigade, and the Botswana Open University Campus. On a disappointing note, she said while the primary school registers good pass rates of up to 80 percent, the junior secondary is not doing well.
She attributes this to the fact that it receives students from the RADS areas. Upon completing Standard 7, students progress to do their junior certificate even when they had failed PSLE. If there was anything that Seipone could change now, that would be ensuring that students do not get automatically promoted from primary school to secondary, but get a good pass rate before proceeding to the next class. “We should encourage our children to know the importance of education, especially the Basarwa children. This is so because even their parents do not know the importance of education.
“For example, pupils who are sent to boarding school stay long without meeting their parents, and when they are brought back after seven years to places nearer to Kang, they refuse to go to boarding schools but instead prefer to live with their parents,” she said.
What is not helping is that some parents either go on a drinking spree or on an expedition to fetch grass, and this leads to the children either quitting school or not attending school regularly. “In my view, the only way to get them encouraged is to keep taking them to schools far away from their settlements as this might encourage them to be focused,” Seipone said.