23 Sep 2024

 Five settlements in North West District will be recognised and incorporated into villages following a Presidential Directive on the approval of recognition and incorporation of unrecognised settlements.

The approved settlements include Mochaba, which will be incorporated into Shorobe village as a ward; Mapororo to be incorporated into Semboyo village as a ward; Qweexwa to be incorporated into Komana and declared an agricultural production zone.

Other settlements are Xhana, which will  be incorporated into Chanoga while Sexaxa will be moved from Maun and incorporated into Matlapana village as a ward.

North West District Council Secretary, Mr Thatayotlhe Balapi, informed the councillors during the just-ended full council meeting that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development had approved the said five settlements indicating that the responsible ministries, departments and agencies had been urged to prioritise planning and the provision of resources for the settlements in the National Development Plan.

He also noted that four settlements had been deferred and the concept of conservancy village would be explored. The settlements included Ditshiping, Daunara, Xaxaba and Quqao, which are all situated in the Okavango Delta. The conservancy model empowers rural communities to decide on the use of natural resources.

Conservancy settlements are anchored around the indigenous people found in a specific area and derive economic benefits from a given natural habitat.

Last year the councillors endorsed the proposal to declare the said settlements into community conservancy villages with a view that the model would specifically address issues faced by the communities and improve social cohesion.

The concept is reported to be in line with the aims of the Community-Based Natural Resource Management programme of achieving biodiversity and leaders were happy that the model would benefit the indigenous people who would be able to understand better why it was important to conserve native flora and fauna.

In response, some councillors suggested that the council should conduct consultation meetings with the affected settlements to apprise the communities on the new model. They also called for benchmarking trips to countries which were successful implementing the model such as Namibia and Kenya.

On the issue of incorporation of the five settlements, councillors thanked the government for acceding to their request and wished relevant departments could speedily ensure residents enjoyed basic necessities citing the provision of water and allocation of land. ENDS