Will the Dreaded ‘Yellow Monster’ Stop Roaring Again?: An Appraisal of Botswana’s 2015 Land Policy

Abstract

This paper assesses Botswana land policy of 2015 from a historical perspective. In July 2015 the parliament of Botswana, after a lengthy debate, approved a new land policy for the country. It had first been brought to the parliament in 2013 by Botswana’s then Minister of Lands and Housing, Lebonamang Mokalake. He had brought in the proposed policy with the provision of land quotas for the communities living in the peri-urban areas. The legislators rejected the proposed land quota model arguing that it was discriminatory. Thus, the 2015 policy has no provision for the land quotas. It tries to confront the serious challenges facing land administration and management in Botswana. However, a closer look at the policy shows that it overlooked the main challenges confronting land management and administration in the country. We suggest that the policy needs serious revision for it to be inclusive and to effectively address the real problems on the ground.