14 Jul 2014

Land redistribution is said to be one viable means that can be used to address the problem of shortage of land in some parts of the country.



The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) Tati West parliamentary candidate, Mr Richard Gudu said the bulk of the country’s land was in the hands of foreigners, hence the need for deliberate steps to be taken to ensure that citizens also benefitted from their own land.



Speaking at a political rally in Themashanga on Saturday (July 12), Mr Gudu noted that it was sad that many Batswana had to wait for years, albeit with little hope, to be allocated land, while the land they could be benefiting from had been taken up by ranches owned by foreigners.



To add salt to injury, he said, government continued to use a lot of money to buy back some of the land when the owners of the ranches had themselves received the land freely.



“Why is this land not taken and redistributed to locals who currently do not have land?” he wondered, noting that the problem of land shortage was more pronounced in the North East District.


For his part, the Botswana Peoples Party president and UDC chairperson, Mr Motlatsi Molapisi decried the high levels of poverty in Botswana.



He observed that the situation was different when the country attained its independence, adding that the rise in poverty levels could be attributed to the failure of the government to manage the country’s economy well.



Mr Molapisi dismissed the ongoing poverty eradication programme as a waste of time, saying it was incapable of turning around the fortunes of its beneficiaries.



On another matter, Mr Molapisi said if voted into power, the UDC would work tirelessly to woo to the country, foreign investors in the manufacturing sector, which has the potential to turn around the economy of the country.



He said the current arrangement where foreign investors sold their wares in the streets, pushing local informal traders out of business was not ideal and would not be allowed to continue under the governance of the UDC.

UDC Tati East parliamentary candidate, Mr Chibuya Kuchwe underscored the need for all to take part in the coming general elections. 



He said voting was one certain way of ensuring that the status quo, where many Batswana continued to languish in poverty, comes to an end.

“Tlhopho ya gago ke yone lerumo la gago kgatlhanong le tlala le lehuma”, Mr Kuchwe noted.



For his part, Themashanga ward council candidate Mr Tongomani Den, appealed to the area residents to vote for him; saying his track record as the councilor in the past was proof that he was capable as a leader.



 He said during his tenure as a councillor before he lost the seat in the previous elections, he had worked hard to ensure among others, the electrification of facilities in Themashanga such as the clinic, school and kgotla. ENDS