As the curtain comes down on the Balete versus government land debacle over Forest Hill 9-KO, a brewing fight between Kweneng Land Board and its clients at Mogoditshane Sub-Land Board is reaching boiling point. Residents of Gabane, Mogoditshane, Mmopane and Metsimotlhabe intend to take on government over suspension of the Compensation In Kind Policy stating that it is illegal. They say they do not recognise the suspension of the policy and want to be given what was originally agreed.

In 2019, Mogoditshane SubLand Board announced that when one surrenders his or her ploughing field, he or she would get six residential plots as compensation. This was coined into a policy called Compensation In Kind.

As the policy was being rolled out, it was marred by corruption allegations and it was eventually suspended with transactions at different stages.

Kweneng Land Board chairperson, Kgang Kgang told the media mid-last year that the policy which saw ploughing field owners get six residential plots per hectare in lieu of money was illegal. He explained that the board decided to annul the transactions after obtaining legal opinion and being made aware that the model contravened the Tribal Land Act Section 10 (1), which stipulates that ownership of tribal land was vested in the Land Board. “Since the ownership of tribal land is vested in the Land Board, compensation for land acquired by the board and/or by the state is not for land, but for improvements or developments on the land in terms of Section 25 of the Tribal Land Act,” he said.

He also said it also provided a loophole whereby some corrupt Land Board officers acquired fields through dubious means to get compensation in kind.

Gabane residents met at their kgotla over the weekend to speak on how best to move forward where they agreed they would petition Minister for Land and Water Affairs, Kefentse Mzwinila. They said they have lost hope in Kgang who recently visited them to reiterate that they would be giving people back their certificates to the fields. “Our instructions are briefly that the Land Board has unlawfully and unreasonably without any basis in law or purported to do the following; Applications for change of land use were declined; Applications for conformance to development plans were indefinitely deferred; Collected certificates of customary rights from clients under an unlawful procedure claimed to ‘compensation’ in kind and never even followed through with it, leaving clients dispossessed of their rights;

“Made resolutions to compensate clients for the acquisition of their fields and never followed through with their own resolutions; Lease application submitted but lease agreements not issued after approval by planning authority; Delayed tribal and lease transfers;

Unlawful and unreasonable refusal of registration of new applications of change of use; and Indefinite deferrals by Land Board on change of use without any reasonable explanations,” reads documents prepared by the Land Resolution Committee, which was put together to assist residents of the affected areas in the Gabane/Mmankgodi constituency. Chairperson of the committee, Game Sengwatse read out their demands to the Land Board which they now want the minister to intervene before they take legal action as a unit.

The demands include: Reinstatement of all unlawful cancellations of title with the false promise of compensation in kind; That the Kweneng Land

Board provides a written undertaking that all agricultural land have consent to comply with the development plans as that is the only logical legal position; To immediately render or process all applications that have been submitted and unlawfully deferred by Kweneng Land Board; That the Deeds Registry Office must immediately and without further delays process all submissions made to Deeds Registry for Registration of Title for Mixed Use General Plans or Survey Diagrams on what used to be fields; To immediately release all leases with planning approvals that have been applied for and the leases deliberately withheld at the instance of Kweneng Land Board; That the Department of Surveys and Mapping shall immediately and without further delays process all submissions made to the Department of that Surveys and Mapping for subdivision of mixed-use layouts from what used to be fields and procedurally approved by planning authorities; and That the Deeds Registry Office shall immediately and without further delays process all submissions made to Deeds Registry for Registration of Title for Mixed Use General Plans or Survey Diagrams on what used to be fields.

With all speakers stating that they want agreements stuck to, the meeting resolved that they would now petition the minister. Kgosi Seeletso Pule, who said the Land Board had asked him to consult with his people to try to find common ground, declared he had failed to intervene. “It is clear that you won’t move from your positions. I will let the Land Board know that I failed to reconcile you and them. It is now up to you to do what you deem is right including going to court as some of you have. You do not only have to wait for a class action if you are able to go to court,” he said.