Residents reject private control of

Residents of the KHUMASE lands in Serowe have decried the private mining of paving stones in their area, noting that these resources are known to be a cash cow in other countries.Speaking to BOPA after handing over a petition to Serowe District Commissioner Ms Angelina Leano-Bakoko on Thursday, destined for the President, the Secretary General of the envisaged KHUMASE trust, Mr Boitshwarelo Tiroyamodimo expressed deep disappointment. He stated that local natural resources were not benefiting the community, but rather a single individual. He explained that residents of Khumanego, Maumo, Mangolwana, and Sepalamoriri, had expressed a desire to form a community trust, dubbed KHUMASE, back in 2017.

He has thus pointed accusing fingers at Mr Gotlamang Kelapile for acquiring a prospecting license to mine the area while the community was still working on the trust’s logistics and modalities. Furthermore, he alleges that Mr Kelapile, who was the chairperson of the KHUMASE Farmers Committee back then, took advantage of his position to apply for the prospecting license for personal benefit instead of the community. To thwart the move, Mr Tiroyamodimo said they wrote several letters of objection to the Paje Sub-Landboard, but to no avail.

Frustrated by lack of response, residents organised a peaceful march to the District Commissioner’s office in Serowe on Thursday and handed over a petition signed by 37 participants. Swaneng Ward Councilor, Mr Lebogang Motseothata, whose jurisdiction encompasses KHUMASE, stated that when he took office in 2024, he found a pending mining rights issue that needed resolution. Mr Motseothata concurred with Mr Tiroyamodimo, noting he was reliably informed that KHUMASE residents wanted to form a trust to benefit the entire community through local natural resources.

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He said the community had initially agreed in unison with Mr Kelapile to form the trust, who later turned round and pursued the venture alone, leaving the community in the lurch, a thing he relayed had left a lingering feeling of unease and betrayal among the KHUMASE community. How Mr Kelapile acquired surface and mining rights and was alloted the green light by Paje sub-landboard to mine stones used for paving, decoration and building beats logic according to Councilor Motseothata. Giving his own account on Monday, Mr Kelapile confirmed that he indeed possessed surface and mining rights obtained from the Department of Mines for the venture and that he had as per the dictates of the remit of the law submitted an expression of interest to the Paje Sub-Landboard, which responded textually in the affirmative. He noted that proper channels were followed throughout his journey to acquire the rights, making his claim to the land legitimate.

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