(English) April 19th, 2012
Councillor Ofentse Mafoko informed the villagers, who had gathered at the Mmankgodi Kgotla, that they would no longer be evicted from their village because the land board had agreed to give them residential certificates.
“The land board has decided that you be given residential plot certificates except in the case of five people who do not originate here,” he said. Ramaphatle is a small village with over 900 people along the Gabane-Thamaga road. It has a primary school with over 100 children.
Villagers had faced eviction since 2010 when the land board issued them with eviction letters instead of certificates for their homes. All the people in Ramaphatle were allocated land by their Dikgosi many years back, Mmegi has been told. Even as recent as 2008 land boards reportedly advised residents who had applied for land in the area that Dikgosi were responsible for allocation of land since Ramaphatle was still a small village. According to the councillor, only seven people have residential plot certificates in Ramaphatle, and these are people who were not born in the area and had to ask for land from the land board because Dikgosi did not know them.
Today’s saga was a result of administrative changes at both Thamaga and Kweneng land boards, he said. “Our land boards have this culture of changing faces and each time new officers come into office they bring new rules,” he said, adding that “people were told their Dikgosi would allocate them land since this area was originally for farming. But now new people have come into office and they are telling us a different story.” Land board officers “had been visiting the village, measuring homesteads and even interviewing residents. They were promised that they would be given certificates for plots but they received eviction letters instead,” he said. “Upon receiving the letters people approached me and Dikgosi, asking for help because they could not go to court for themselves,” he noted. The councillor together with Dikgosi went to meet the then Minister of Lands and Housing, Nonofo Molefhi about the matter.
The minister then wrote a letter that the residents be given certificates to stay in the area since they got misleading information from the land boards. However, the minister’s response was not communicated to the land boards, which had already given instruction that houses be demolished. “We confronted them with the minister’s letter and they agreed to settle out of court. They agreed that yes, people would be given certificates for their plots,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents spoke with one voice that they should stand together and fight for other residents who still face eviction. One of them is Dineo Motana of Kalamare. She settled in Ramaphatle in 2008 after she asked for a plot from a chief. She stays with her four children. Gobonywemang Tukwi of Mmathethe settled in Ramaphatle in 1994. She also was given a plot by the Kgosi.
Also facing eviction are residents of Fikeng and Ramotlhabeng. These are smaller villages around Mmankgodi.
Fikeng has over 500 people while Ramotlhabeng has over 200. “We will be continuing with the struggle but for other villages now. They also are in a similar predicament,” Mafoko noted.
Source: Mmegi Online
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