Court to determine case of Pandamatenga farmers

Lebogang Mosikare
Correspondent | Sunday May 26, 2013 00:00

 

In December last year, the farmers made an urgent application before court to oppose the allocation of the farms to two South Africans farmers arguing that the allocation of the farms to the South Africans will greatly prejudice locals who have been on the waiting list for the past 12 months.

Appearing for the farmers in the matter, Francistown-based attorney David Ditiro of Tshekiso Ditiro & Jani Legal Practice told Francistown High Court Judge Phadi Solomon that they have consented with the respondent attorney, Lawrence Lecha, acting on behalf of Chobe Landboard, that the matter will not proceed pending finalisation of an application for review to be instituted by the court before end of April.

Attorney Lecha had told the applicant, Kgosi Rebecca Banika, who is acting on behalf of the local community to withdraw the matter.

At the end the proceedings, Justice Solomon said no farm allocations would take place pending finalisation of application for review before end of April.

In her affidavit, Kgosi Banika states that Chobe Landboard demarcated communal land after due consultations with local authorities and community around 2010 and thereto 21 farms were created.

Following this process in or around 2011, the respondent advertised 14 of the farms and subsequently allocated them to deserving individuals,' she says.She adds that Chobe Landboard then made further consultations with the village on how the remaining seven farms should be dealt with.

'It promised us that the remaining seven farms will be re-advertised and allocated through a tendering process.'Respondent's decision in the above-mentioned matter presented a good opportunity to my community, which is dependent on arable farming for its livelihood and everyone was excited by the opportunity, but the excitement was short-lived as would become apparent hereunder,' she argues in her affidavit.

Banika states that after waiting for months for the tenders of the seven farms to be opened as promised by the Ministry of Agriculture, the community learnt with dismay this month that the Chobe Landboard had on November 19, 2012 published a tender advertisement for only two farms.

'Initially, we thought that the respondent had decided to advertise the farms in installments, which would mean that all would not be lost as those who would not be successful in the first bid would have another chance and try their luck again in the subsequent tenders for the remaining farms,' she said. In her affidavit, Banika states that they were disappointed to receive information from Chobe Landboard that the latter had made a unilateral decision to consolidate all the seven farms into two that were the subject of tender number CLB/02/2012.

'This information came as a shock to us and shattered our chances of successfully bidding for the farms. 

'Following the promise made by the respondent, we had a legitimate expectation that all the seven farms would be open for the community and everyone would have a chance to compete for them,' she said.

What apparently infuriates the Pandamatenga community is that the Chobe Landboard allegedly failed to respond to their enquiries on the matter, despite numerous requests for the suspension of the tender.

The landboard also failed to furnish them with the relevant documents that influenced the approval for the tender.Accompanying the court papers are a letter purportedly written by Agricultural Hub Coordinator Neil Fitt to chief executive officer of Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA).

In the letter, Fitt requests 'due diligence' from BEDIA. 

'The Ministry of Agriculture has identified two farmers and intends allocating them some land in Pandamatenga. We are therefore requesting your office to assist with conducting some due diligence on the said farmers,' he said.

The chairperson of Commercial Farmers Association in the area, Tienie Kruger, even accused Ministry of Agriculture officials of corruption.

The ministry has since denied Kruger's allegations saying there was nothing wrong in the manner in which the farms were allocated last year.