Botswana: Lands and Agriculture Ministry Needs 39 Physical Planners

Gaborone — The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture is working on rationalising some of the vacant positions to create physical planner posts for the landboards and sub land boards.

Answering a question in Parliament on behalf of the Minister of Lands and Agriculture, the Assistant Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Mr Baratiwa Mathoothe said to sufficiently resource all land boards including sub-and boards, a minimum of 39 additional posts for physical planners were needed.

"At this envisaged staffing level, each land board will have an assistant physical planner and the sub land board and a principal planner II at the main land board," said Mr Mathoothe.

He explained that due to resources constraints, the ministry had no immediate capacity to hire physical planners and assistants for all land board and sub land board offices.

Currently, he said the ministry had nine vacant positions of physical planners, for which recruitment was ongoing to address critical needs at land boards and sub land boards.

Mr Mathoothe had also indicated that the current number of physical planners employed by land boards and sub land boards across the country was 19, of which four were at Ngwato, Kgatleng and Kweneng with three each, Malete, Ngwaketse and Tawana, two each, Tati, Chobe and Kgalagadi, one each.

He said Rolong, Tlokweng and Ghanzi were assisted by desk officers based at the Department of Town and Country Planning and Physical Planners at district councils.

Mr Mathoothe was responding to a question from Tati East MP, Mr Tlhabologo Furniture, who had asked the minister to state the number of physical planners who were employed by land boards and their location.

Mr Furniture also asked the minister to state what was being done to ensure that all land boards including sub land boards had physical planning officers in order to facilitate efficient execution of developments such as subdivision, consultation and other planning activities.

He further wanted the minister to state how long it would take to hire physical planners and their assistants for all land board offices.

BOPA

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