Boidus Focus - Vol 2, Issue 8 [Oct 2012] by Boidus Botswana

10.10.2012

OIDUS FOCUS

Registered at GPO as a Newspaper Volume 2, Issue #8

NEWS > 02 Local Architects to Speak at SA (GBCSA) 03 International News Feature: Markets Briefs: Zambia, SA and USA.

Botswana’s Architecture Design & Urban Landscape Newspaper

www.boidus.co.bw

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE >

BOIDUS FEATURE >

EDITORIALS > 02 Housing Petition Demands 04 Property Valuers Accused of Price Inflation

FEATURED EDITORIALS > 08 How the ‘Garden City’ failed. 13 Safeguarding a special Place.

BOIDUS CLASSIFIEDS > 10 8-Tips for Pricing your home 10 Property Price InflationLearn from Experts

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As Botswana Turns 46, We Reflect On Our Building Heritage.

For “a nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past are a people without a soul.” by H. Killion Mokwete

Do Property Valuers Inflate Property Prices?

Minister K. Matambo (MFDP), REIB President Maje C. Maje , Dr Keith Jefferis Economist by Kibo Ngowi

Minister of Finance and Development Planning Kenneth Matambo made a public statement last month alluding to an alarming trend of property valuers overpricing property, warning that it could lead to a market crash in future if the phenomenon was not nipped in the bud. The assertion

was supported by Botswana Building Society (BBS) Managing Director Pius Molefe who remarked, “We plead with property valuers to avoid overpricing houses because it defeats the purpose of the society of housing Batswana.” >>> CONTINUED PAGE 04

[Top] Original Painting or Trinity Church Bailey ‘73, Courtesy of Gill Jones [Bottom Left] Panoramic View of Old Orapa House Source: Botswana Official Handbook ‘84

HOUSING PETITION DEMANDS

Immediate Land Audit, Review BHC Mandate and Impose Hefty Tax on the Unused Freehold Land by Kibo Ngowi

A group of citizens frustrated with the lack of affordable housing in Botswana have decided to address their complaints to the Minister of Lands and Housing through a petition demanding that immediate steps be taken to improve the situation.

For roughly three weeks the petition, which aims to collect 50, 000 signatures in order to show the impact of the problem before presenting it to the minister, has been circulating online and through printed copies. In an interview with Boidus, the informal group’s publicity secretary, Joe >>> CONTINUED PAGE 03

[Bottom Right] The Main Mall Street View 1976 Source: Facts on Botswana

In the true words of our Nations founding father, the late Sir Seretse Khama, “a nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past is a people without a soul.” This timeless saying should not only be our guiding principle in anything that is our past but also in how we treasure, celebrate and jealously protect our historical and heritage buildings. If only he could see what has become of our building heritage, he would be turning in his grave. Thirty two years since his passing and to date

there is not a single authority, nor ministry which can be seen to provide leadership or patronage to our building heritage. Our historical sites and buildings, one after the other are mercilessly razed down for shiny new ones or worse still left to rot and become home to stray animals.

such as one in The Village, Francistown, Kanye, Dibete and many others, the story is the same, that of neglect and a disappearing past.

The departments which are meant to be torch bearers in safeguarding these sites are either playing truant or just plainly could not be bothered to act. From Lobatse’s heritage buildings, Gaborone’s original buildings

How the ‘Garden City’ Concept failed in the making of Gaborone by H. Killion Mokwete >>> GO TO PAGE 08

Lobatse – Safeguarding A Special Place by Sandy Grant >>> GO TO PAGE 13

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Local News Page 2

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Sports and Recreation Loads Extra P62,100,000 by Keeletsang P. Dipheko

cies which rendered certain areas of building works unusable. Recently the remaining work has been divided into two phases namely completion of initial works and correction of deficiencies by reconstructing some areas. This is done to make the work functional. “The Lobatse Sports Complex requires additional funds amounting to P17, 600,000 to improve the functionality and durability of the facility. The construction of the project started in March 2008 and was scheduled for completion by January 2010.”

Section 119(3) (a) of the Constitution provides that “If in any Financial Year it is found that the amount appropriated by the Appropriation Act for the purposes included in any head of expenditure is insufficient or that a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by the Appropriations Act, a Supplementary Estimate showing the sums required shall be laid before the National Assembly …”

under the Development Fund, which is Sports and Recreation. The Total Estimate Cost of the project has required an additional of an additional P62, 100, 000 which is an increase in the annual provision of P83, 100, 000. The requested funds will be used for completion of the Francistown Stadium, improve functionality of the Lobatse Sports Complex and rehabilitation of the Serowe Integrated Sports Complex.

This was said by the Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning Honorable Dr. Somolekae when presenting the Financial Paper No.1 of 2012/2013. The paper contained the supplementary estimates of expenditure for the consolidated and developments funds in parliament recently.

“An amount of P60, 000, 000 is requested to complete the construction of the Francistown Stadium. The construction of the Stadium started in March, 2008 and was scheduled for completion in January, 2010”, said Somolekae

A request for supplementary funding concerns one on-going project

However due to poor performance, the contract was terminated. The project experienced design deficien-

Hospitality Industry Is Extraordinarily Wealthy by Keeletsang P. Dipheko

One of the fastest growing sectors of the economy of our time is the hospitality industry. The industry is a multi-billion dollar and growing enterprise. It is one of the country’s key industries with huge growth prospects in jobs. Known for its ability to deliver kind and generous services to guests, Tlotlo Center gets into another level by having the realistic opportunity of becoming wide-ranging administrators. In relation to the Phase two

buildings, Tlotlo Conference Center launches a new face to the hotel industry and builds an extra Tlotlo Hotel and Conference Center in Block 5. As a 100 per cent citizen owned by a young lady from Bokaa village in Kgatleng District named Antonia Shadiwa Moatshe. The hotel is aiming for a 5 star hotel rating and currently it is offering accommodation, conference meetings, receptions, banquets, cocktails and weddings to mention but a few.

Somolekae said during construction, black cotton soil was discovered on site and this necessitated further adjustments on the designs and changes in the scope of the project, adding to further delays. He said a sum of P5, 500,000 is being requested to carry-out the rehabilitation of the Serowe Integrated Sports Complex. The Sports Complex was built on black cotton soil resulting in severe damage to the facility. The facility was completed in October 2001 and the defects liability period ended in December 2003. Furthermore, in line with Presidential Directive CAB.1/2004 which states that Supplementary budget request should only be allowed if they are accompanied by proposals for virement of funds from other parts of the Ministries’ budget”, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has identified funds under Cultural Development and Performing Arts project amounting to P62, 100,000 that shall be used to augment the Total Estimated Cost of Sports and Recreation project.

Furthermore it highlights the industry’s job creating potential which the government cannot ignore, the hotel has 84 rooms, but opening with 44 rooms for now. The standard rooms are 64, 46 queen beds, 16 twin beds and 2 paraplegic (physical challenge) rooms. Executive rooms 20, they have a 3 in 1 bathroom that is shower, bath tub and Jacuzzi. All rooms are fully air-conditioned, have mini bar fridges, free Wi-Fi accessible, they have dstv channels available and a full bathroom amenities which include a dental kit, for in house guest there is a fitness room (gym). The hotel also has conferencing which is 6 executive conference rooms sitting different sizes, 20 seater executive boardroom, 1000 cinema seater auditorium and a wedding parlor in the pipeline. All the conference rooms are wi-fi accessible as well and have in-built in presentation screens and projectors. However it is diverse enough for people to work in different areas of interest and still be employed within the hospitality industry. the building include the restaurant and bars of 40 seater Fine Dining A’ la carte restaurant which only opens for dinner and a 200 seater buffet restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is also hair and beauty parlor.

LOCAL NEWS FEATURE

Local Architects to Speak at the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Convention and Exhibition by Boidus Admin

This years Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Convention and Exhibition will be held in Capetown on the 23rd – 25th October 2012, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The renowned annual event ‘provides an inspirational platform for worldclass education, knowledge sharing and decision-maker networking around sustainability and the built environment, according to the website feature. This years event will amongst other subjects feature: • Education day (pre-conference): Detailed master classes and workshops • Conference: Two days of keynote speeches, panel discussions and facilitated debates • Knowledge: Updates on Green Star SA, government policies, greening existing buildings • Networking: Opening cocktail, formal convention dinner and exhibition hall tea/lunches • Exhibition hall: Access to the latest innovations in green building products and services

Local Architects to Speak at GBCSA Amongst the world class speakers will be two local architects and experts in the green and sustainability subject, Mr G. S. Manowe, the current Chairmen of the Architects Registration Council (ARC), and Executive Chairman and founding director of Pinagare Architects. Mr Manowe, and is noted under GBCSA profile that:

His proposition of Symbiosis and Sustainable Dwelling and related innovation backed, recently, by consolidated research and development, is a culmination of many years of curiosity, contemplation and enquiry into the practical linkages between the socio-cultural, economic and technical/scientific aspects of sustainability. He will be speaking with Mr Leago S. Sebina, Lecturer at the University of Botswana and Partner at Pinagare Architects. He is noted under GBCSA profile that:

His field of interest, in architecture and the built environment in general, is rooted on the quest for an appropriate sustainable contemporary architecture, suited to the local imperatives, but belonging to the wider global village. This is influential in Mr. Sebina’s teachings, as a key member of staff in the Bachelor of Architecture Programme, delivering the third year Design Studio course, as well as a theory course on The Human Imperative to Architecture; Sustainability and Architecture of Indigenous Communities.

Mr. G.S. Manowe

Mr. Leago S. Sebina

ANNOUNCEMENT: PRICE INCREASE

Due to increased print runs and printing costs, Boidus Focus Newspaper will as of next month (Nov 2012) cost you just P8 per copy

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Regional / International News Page 3

HOUSING PETITION DEMANDS

Immediate Land Audit, Review BHC Mandate and Impose Hefty Tax on the Unused Freehold Land by Kibo Ngowi

INTERNATIONAL NEWS Zambia poised for some upward growth in Real Estate Market Zambia’s Real Estate Sector is poised for some upward growth and is widely tipped to record sustained economic growth of approximately seven percent over the next few years. Giving an analysis on Zambia’s real estate, Pam Golding Properties Zambia MD Inutu Zaloumis said the manner in which the country’s real estate sector is transforming the face of the nation is as good as any barometer for the economic turnaround currently underway. Read full report here: http://www.sacommercialpropnews.co.za/ south-africa-provincial-news/africa-commercial-property/5164-zambia-poised-for-someupward-growth-in-real-estate-market.html

>>> FROM PAGE 01

Serema said that the initiative is best understood as a non-political pressure group concerned with issues of the availability and affordability of land and housing for Batswana. He went on to say that the group is in the final stages of drawing up a draft list of demands that they intend to present to the minister and that one item at the very top of the list is the implementation of a land audit. “It doesn’t make sense for there to be a land shortage in a country with such a vast amount of land and such a small population,” says Serema “We need a land audit to help government determine whether there truly isn’t enough land for the population or if most of the land is being held by a handful of people.” He notes that if you take the amount of freehold land which amounts to the most bankable land that is lying unused and make sure it attracts tax charges, then this might encourage investors to put land to productive uses rather than exacerbate prices due to shortage of land. In addition to the Audit, Mr Serema suggests that the land management systems that are currently used to distribute land are a complete failure. He recalls a colleague who applied for tribal land some 10 years ago and to this date is still waiting. ‘The last time I travelled up North, i noted that there are plenty of empty unused swatches of land along the A1 while many Batswana go without land’. Another bone of contention is that the mandate of the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) has shifted its focus from one of providing affordable accommodation to Batswana to one of providing the housing, office and other building needs of the Government and Local Authorities. “We want government to review the mandate of BHC and perhaps even return it to its original mandate because currently, BHC housing is out

of the reach of most Batswana.” He highlights that the current 2 bed flats, with no land are going at P570, 000, a price which puts all of these flats out of reach of most young people and first time buyers. He also highlights that not only has BHC overlooked its mandate in search of profit, it also is now receiving preferential treatment in awarding of land even in rural areas as seen in the recent uproar in Bokaa and Morwa area where BHC has been awarded land where there is known to be a shortage of land. The group also intends to suggest that government should impose a hefty tax on unproductive freehold land. “This tax would force entities that own large chunks of freehold land to either develop or sell it so that one way or another, that land contributes to the economy.” Serema stresses that while issues such as land can never be divorced from politics, this initiative is not a political move and is not sponsored by any political party or politician. The group has now devised an electronic draft method which allows people to add their support to the petition via text message. One simply has to send their first and last name, their ID number and their location of residence to the number 76330830 and the message will be sent directly to a database. At the time of the interview, Serema said that the petition has received phenomenal support from members of the public across the board with about 20, 000 signatures so far collected. “At the heart of our demands is for government to adopt a land and housing policy that recognises that accommodation is not a luxury but rather a human right, a policy that will recognise that right and ensure that nobody is denied it,” said Serema in closing.

Artist’s impression of Roma Square, a retail centre in Roma Park. A landmark mixed-use development situated on the outskirts of the suburb of Roma just 6km from Lusaka’s central city and 20km from Lusaka International Airport.

South Africa’s property sector worth a whopping R4.9 trillion The South African property sector is worth a whopping R4.9 trillion according to a new study undertaken to discover the size of the country’s property sector. This Property Sector Charter Council commissioned research is the first study of its kind in South Africa. CEO of the Property Sector Charter Council, Portia Tau-Sekati says: “The research creates a hub of knowledge about the property sector, consolidating information and developing a common and consistent understanding. By determining the size of the South African property sector, we are moving towards a proper baseline measure to assess market size and its components, the scale of different services and activities within the sec-

tor and ultimately BEE transformation figures in line with the Property Sector Code scorecard.

US home sales jump to highest since May 2010 By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER and MARTIN CRUTSINGER | Associated Press – Wed, Sep 19, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — A jump in sales of previously occupied homes and further gains in home construction suggest the U.S. housing recovery is gaining momentum. Sales of previously occupied homes rose 7.8 percent in August from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That’s the highest level since May 2010, when sales were aided by a federal home-buying tax credit. At the same time, builders broke ground on 2.3 percent more homes and apartments in August than July. The Commerce Department said the annual rate of construction rose to a seasonally adjusted 750,000. The increase was driven the best rate of single-family home construction since April 2010.

The pair of reports comes amid other signs of steady progress in the housing market after years of stagnation. New-home sales are up, builder confidence is at its highest level in more than six years and increases in home prices appear to be sustainable.

NYC- Manhattan Could get even taller New York’s Mayor Bloomberg is pushing for an updated zoning code for Midtown Manhattanwhich will affect the blocks around Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler Building, and north toward the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Lever House. This new code, called Midtown East, would replace existing building height restrictions and allow high-rise towers to soar in the 70-block area currently outfitted with older buildings of lower stature. If Midtown East is approved, developers would be able to build twice the size now permitted in the Grand Central area, bringing an estimated 16,000 employees in a neighborhood that now has 230,000 office workers.

Editorial Page 4

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Property Valuers Accused of Overpricing

by Kibo Ngowi

>>> FROM PAGE 01

Responding to a Boidus questionnaire on the issue, President of Real Estate Institute of Botswana (REIB) Clifford Maje Maje said that there is a gross misunderstanding of the role of a property valuer. “Valuers don’t set property prices; they merely determine market value (MV) of a property. Market Value is a price agreed by a willing buyer and a willing seller without compulsion; this is not in any way influenced by the valuer. The ba-

sis of valuation is to establish MV of a property, not to set or influence the price. It is unfortunate that the market or consumers in Botswana are failing to grasp the basics of economics. There is no way that estate agents and valuers can drive prices very high and until Batswana start employing economics 101, they will be stuck in this belief which has no clear explanation or justification.” When questioned about Minister

Matambo’s assertion that property valuers were contributing to inflated prices, Maj Maje said, “Unfortunately I didn’t have an opportunity to advise the minister on the matter and REIB is planning to go and meet the minister to share our opinion. Valuers have no influence on how the property prices come out, unless it is the work of some rouge elements who we have a way of dealing with as REIB. We have established REIB valuation standards committee to try and guard against any

bad apples. Should any member of the public get in contact with inflated reports, they should contact REIB office to lodge a complaint so that this can be dealt with forth with. We will protect our noble profession at all costs.” Notwithstanding the REIB President’s stance, Economist Dr. Keith Jefferis warns that “inflated” property prices have a potentially detrimental effect on quality of life as prices that are too high relative to incomes create a situation in which fewer people are able to buy or rent adequate housing. Furthermore, high prices can lead people to borrow excessively, resulting in household solvency problems or “debt stress” and possible defaults on housing loans – a situation which can in turn lead to problems for banks from bad debts if it becomes widespread. Jefferis does however say that worries of an impending crash on the scale of the 2008 United States Housing bubble which caused the global recession are premature and unlikely to occur. “There is no sign yet that housing loans are causing any problems for banks, and in fact bank lending for housing is relatively low, so we are unlikely to experience the kind of problems from property loans seen in the USA, Spain and other countries” says Jefferis. He does however warn that high housing prices may hold back the economy more generally, causing upward pressure on wages and making it more difficult for people to move to areas where jobs may be available. Jefferis does go on to say that there is a silver lining to be found in the dark cloud of overpriced property in that

the market is being driven by demand and supply rather than a “speculative bubble” as was the case in the US. “The latter is potentially far more damaging, as values get out of line with underlying valuations. High prices driven by demand indicate that the economy is growing.” The problem in the case of Botswana is that the supply of affordable housing is not keeping up with demand. Maje Maje also points to the supply/ demand relationship in his analysis of the property market in Botswana. “Property is a product just like any other product in the market. These products haven’t stagnated in price as the pula lost value and inflation played havoc in the economic sphere. Demand and supply have kept the price of rice very high and it is still growing. The same goes for property. The waiting list for people hoping to be allocated land in Gaborone has grown faster than the way parcels of land are allocated. This has put a lot of pressure on the limited resource that we have available. This artificial shortage of land, which has been created by our land policy, will forever drive land prices high.” Maje Maje contrasts Botswana with South Africa as the latter adopted a land policy which allows for any development of land parcels, a policy that has seen the country experience an influx of residential estate development. “The day that happens here, this will make property an undesirable investment. So far, property is the only asset class where Batswana who have invested in it have made a meaningful return on investment,” he concludes.

Facebook Comments BOIDUS BOTSWANA Finance Minister K. Matambo is reported to have pleaded with local property valuers to not inflate prices of property so that Batswana can afford homes.... he is quoted in the Sunday Standard, 9/09/12 saying, ‘I would like to appeal to the Real Estate Institute to intervene in this matter of property valuations, so that we can avoid property crash in the future’. How true is that property valuers inflate house prices? Kim Annemarie Bekker, Caesar Tshupelo, Vincent Moapare, Pedriel Mokwadi Nyame, anybody? MOSETSANA KEDIDIMETSE I agree.I honestly think that property valuers inflate prices of properties in botswana.they are deliberately making it hard for ordinary batswana to afford property.imagine a degree graduate who has just started workin at a gov ministry who is paid 7ooo.they can only get a house worth 4ook or less. houses now are worth over 8ook .its sad because banks rely on property valuers THATO HOLLAUF Why does he need to plead with them? Why not regulate property prices and rentals ? BOIDUS BOTSWANA Thato Hollauf, how can a house prices be regulated..? THATO HOLLAUF @Boidus Botswana in a free market prices are set by supply and demand so the government can set caps and floors these prices that are determined by the market ka gore golo fa e kare batho ba ntshetsa di price mo tlhogong. Valuation methods should also be standardised even though valuation in real estate is most subjective I think they should allow for a greater degree of objectivity. >>> CONTINUED PAGE 17

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Featured Research Page 5

FEATURE RESEARCH: Urban Low Income Access to Land and Housing in Botswana by Prof. Aloysius. Clemence Mosha [UB Department of Architecture and Planning] decades. Urban growth rates have been estimated at about 7 per cent per annum compared to the average national growth rate of 3.4 per cent (GoB, 1996). The 2011 census shows that Gaborone city (the capital) had a population of 233,135 up from 186,007 in 2001. Francistown the second city had a population of 101,028 up from 83,023 in 2001(CSO 2011).

Botswana’s population in 2011 was 2,038,228 up from 1,680,863 in 2001. It grew by just by 1.9 per cent, showing a diminishing growth rate. The population growth rate between 1991 and 2001 was 2.38 per cent compared with 3.50 per cent between 1981 and 1991 (CSO, 2001). The country has one of the world’s lowest average population densities, which is estimated at a little over three people per square kilometre, with 80 per cent of Batswana concentrated in the more fertile eastern regions where land and water resources are more favourable(ibid) Traditionally a pastoral society, with a predominantly rural population, an ever-increasing numbers of Batswana have been moving to urban areas and large villages in the last three

Urbanization derives its greatest impetus from statutory reclassification-cum-re-designation of rural settlements, migration, and strategic location of settlements. Urbanization has occurred in phases. First, there has been concentration in the primate city (Gaborone). Secondly, there has been fission leading to the fast growth of intermediate settlements. Third, is the rapid infilling of interstitial zones between the capital and adjacent intermediate centres. Fourth, the remote resource frontier settlements appear to be now growing relatively rapidly. The urbanization trends have been closely associated with the nation’s economic development, modernization but, lately, urbanization diseconomies. (Gwebu 2004). Despite the relatively modest rate of urbanization, Botswana did not institute a national urban development

strategy up until 1978 and no national housing policy was promulgated until 1982 and the latest is the 2000 housing policy. The government only provided housing to its employees. The urban poor and the new migrants from the rural areas were left to fend for themselves. The provision of shelter was not considered a top priority by the government then. Fifteen years later, there was realization that the problem of squatter settlements that were mushrooming in almost all Botswana’s urban centres would require urgent attention. Today, the housing crisis is now a major issue in many of the urban settlements. As early as 1971, the government had recognized a need for addressing people's housing requirements, with the establishment of the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC), whose mission was to provide housing for government and local authorities, as well as the subsequent 1978 introduction of the Self- Help Housing Agency (SHHA), a programme meant to give low-income households access to affordable land and housing. However, the BHC has to-date largely failed to meet demand for houses with, until some years ago, a notoriously long waiting list that was unsustainable and tedious to manage. The corporation discarded the waiting list

system at the end of 1996. "People stayed for more than 15 years on the waiting list, and some died [while] on the waiting list. It complicated the credit vetting process and escalated beyond the delivery of housing projects," lamented the BHC manager (Mmegi, 2011). The SHHA programme has also had limited success. Many urban residents have therefore, been left with no choice but to rent houses. However, even in this regard tenants are vulnerable to houses whose quality and rentals are largely unregulated. In Gaborone, for example, one can lease out anything from a oneroom in the so-called 'train-houses' that are common in Tlokweng and Mogoditshane(peri-urban settlements) to a mansion in Phakalane (exclusive up market area). Currently, the government does not have any regulatory or legislative framework in place to determine the standard or quality of houses to be leased or rented out. The government also does not have any framework in place to control rentals. Outule Bale, president of the Real Estate Institute of Botswana (REIB), said while he admits that there is a housing crisis in Gaborone, with rentals very high, that the real estate industry in Botswana functions within a free market economy (Mmegi 2011 ibid). "Prices are set by forces of demand and supply. It's not somebody's doing. Supply of houses is limited, while demand is high," he said. It is posited that the reason the supply of housing is this low is because

of a myriad of reasons, including high urbanization, the slow pace of servicing land, unavailability of financial means as well as the lack of mixeduse developments in Botswana society. In spite of the crisis as noted above, the situation is not all that grim as in other countries in Africa as the government has pursued innovative ways and means of enabling low income earners find suitable accommodation in the urban areas. Access to Land: Backlog of plot allocation Due to the economic down turn, the country has not kept pace with land servicing hence a shortage of plots has been the order of the day and the low income have come off worst. In all towns there are long waiting lists at the SHHA departments for low income land. A few examples illustrate this issue. The waiting list for plots in Jwaneng town was 1,900 as of January 2012. The last land allocation was done in 1995. The longest waiting applicant applied on 14th March 1985. The situation is even worse in the capital Gaborone where, as of 15th December 2011, the waiting list stood at 11,368 which comprised of 5,180 and 6,188 applicants for the middle income low and low income plots respectively. The last allocation for the two categories was done in December 2009. Applicants who benefited from these allocations applied between 1981 and 1988 for >>> CONTINUED PAGE 18

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Guest Columnist Page 6

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Francistown Heritage by Wada Supang

Francistown is not literally rich in terms of plant biodiversity, most of the vegetation that adorns the city’s prime areas is made of exotic plant 74% being of the Bignonia family while the rest occupy 26%. The most famous among the Bignonia family is the magnificent free flowering Jacaranda mimosfolia that occupies most the city’s suburbs and the famous blue jacket street. The plant is believed to have been brought to the city by white settlers during the Gold rush in the course of the last century. The other Bignonia plant that can be found in the city includes SPATHODEA CAMPANULATA, TECOMA CAPE-

SIS and the more invasive TECOMA STANS. Though the city council has three recreational parks the largest being the central park, the parks look neglected and are not well maintained something that is making the locals to shun them, the only notable thing about the central park is the independence Baobab tree (Andansonia Digitata) which is said to have been planted by the first Mayoress of Francistown Mrs KATHLEEN MINCHER in September 1966, the city is not big in terms of landscaping. The once dominant Impala government nursery situated

in the eastern part of the city is still trying to promote the use of indigenous plants to no avail, most of the residents sighted that indigenous plants are not attractive and they take a lot of time and effort to fully mature into established trees. Its very evident that a lot has not yet being done to preserve our heritage. There are many economic challenges that are brought by these exotic plants in the city more especially the Bignonia family. In South Africa, members of the Bignonia family including the Jacaranda and the Tecoma Stans have been labelled as invader plants due to their invasive tendencies. The word invasive refers to any plants that produce copious amounts of seeds that are dispersed freely by wind, the seeds then germinate readily in areas where the plants are not welcome, the Tecoma Stans and the Jacaranda seedlings can be found all over the city in trenches, and other areas where they are not welcome, that’s why our neighbours in the south have declared two guys Alien Invaders and they are no longer sold in nurseries. The value of a tree in a garden depends entirely on the character of the specific variety, its shape, size, texture and foliage. Besides providing shades a tree can supply height to create architectural balance but with the Jacarandas that are found in the blue jacket street, they have failed to achieve all the basic requirements that I have outlined above, these plants should be replaced with immediate effect. Atleast we should consider plants like Ficus Benjamina. The Jacaranda is making Francistown look more dull and old. Its extremely important that each one of us plays a proactive role in curbing the spread of alien invader plants in our beautiful city. The city council should lead by example.

OPINION

Rail Park Mall: A Missed Opportunity for Magnificent Mall blue train. I can’t wait for that night trip to Francistown with my dear friends from Zimbabwe. I used to enjoy it and even made friends who seemed regular night travelers like me.

Gaborone City is experiencing a boom of malls, property development and office blocks in all its corners and currently all the entry points for ‘Gabs’ have shopping centre’s / malls. With a population of around 227 333 people (2011 statistics) we are still to see if the market is ready for these.

Back to the mall issue, it has certainly transformed the bus rank and from naked eye view has huge people population at any given time. What do you think it could be like if Rail Park Mall had 1st floor for its entire space occupied? For me, in ‘Botswana standards’ that was going to be great and of course it could have given the mall the title to be the biggest in Botswana and be the most sought after address for retailers. There is no doubt that the bus rank has many people around it and any serious retailer would die to have his/her business at a place where there is continued flow of potential customers.

However those who admire buildings are having a good time and can’t wait to have the CBD complete with all those buildings competing to be the tallest building in Botswana. Botswana Railways through its subsidiary BR Properties indeed took a bold step to venture into shopping malls development and utilize its idle land following into the footsteps of BHC which have stake in Galo Mall in Francistown. I just hope that after they make enough money from rentals, they will consider bringing back our beloved

Rail Park Mall has modernized and attracted back people who normally would not go next to that area but would rather go to other malls. The wide pedestrian bridge linking the mall and what is known as “station” in Gabs just attract people to use it without any magic. There was all kinds of rumors and speculation in the newspapers that the old bridge would be demolished only to turn out it were not true (gore ekete mmega-dikgang o ne a oketsa marago ka matlapa). The current round 1st

floor from the bridge side of the mall is for sure not enough, I envisioned a mall which will take the customer from the bridge to do his/ her shopping on 1st floor up to Food Lovers Market before they proceed to ground floor. How will that be? Or at least have the 1st floor covering up to the food court area. It’s not that I am not happy with the current mall as is; it’s indeed a great thing to happen at the heart of the city mme mpa kere go kabo go ne go ntse jang tota fa ba ne ba agile jalo!!

In its current form the mall now did injustice to us by allowing Chinese shops to have space on it. Really you can agree with me that we have enough Chinese shops even in the bus rank area. I am not trying to be racist / xenophobic or anything I’m merely expressing desire that we hoped and wanted Rail Park Mall to be exclusive with well known brands/ shops. There was room to pull more shops from the outskirts malls into the bus rank; I don’t believe the mall could have un-occupied space at anytime. For example Mr Price on Old Lobatse Road is just far away from people doing shopping in the station area and tends to be forgotten. Rail Park Mall could have pulled these kinds of shops to the heart of the city. You know currently that Food Lovers Market does wonders by bringing the white commu-

nity to it and it’s a very nice and unique concept on its own and does not exist in any other mall than Rail Park. I know currently it is a challenge to reach the mall when driving due to our poor road network, but it fits well for pedestrian shoppers. Its indeed turning out that Rail Park Mall is giving all these other malls run for their money due to its strategic location; it shows a proper market research was done to show there is demand and need for a bigger mall in the heart of the city to make shopping easy for people in the station area. These are results of a well done feasibility study and I am so happy for BR properties idea (to Board members I say big up). The city has recently seen Airport Junction Mall completion to add to its list of malls. Unless it wants to be exclusively for the driving community, Airport Junction need diverting some public transport (kombi) to start or end there in order to have non-motorized public (ba re senang dikoloi) to reach it. Airport Junction Centre needs something like what exist at Game City, public transport rank to ease access. Opposite Sebele Centre we hear another shopping centre is coming on board in 2013. This will make the area congested indeed. Goamogetswe Kaisara Gaborone

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

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The Office of the President and adjacent Government buildings [Botswana: Ten Tears of Progress 1966-1976]

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BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

How the ‘Garden City’ Concept failed in the Making of Gaborone The Origins of the Garden City

by H. Killion Mokwete

ants were planned to travel to nearby satellite central city which existed amongst a series of other cities. The collections of these interlinked cities were envisioned to form a huge metropolitan organism.

The Garden City Concept - Sir Ebenezer Howard

>>> FROM PAGE 01

THE ORIGINS OF THE ‘GARDEN CITY CONCEPT’ It is worth establishing from the start that there can be no disputing the fact that the current Gaborone City plan is not as originally planned. It failed in its original conceptual idea. This two part essay will discuss some of the key failures to the so called ‘Garden City Concept’ which the Gaborone original master plan was based on. In a Financial Times article ‘Gaborone’s growing pains thwart designers, September 21 2010’ by Simon Mundy, Veronica Lesole, the then mayor of Gaborone, was quoted saying; “The planners didn’t do a good job,”. “The reason Gaborone now has no room to grow is because of that plan.” She lamented the idealism of the 1960s city planners who laid out the framework of Botswana’s capital on the problems currently facing the City. Although the failure of the plan cannot be entirely blamed on the original plan, it is worth exploring the real materialisation of the so called ‘Garden City Concept’. THE ORIGINS OF THE GARDEN CITY CONCEPT: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES Contrary to popular belief, Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928) was not the originator of the idea of ‘garden city’. He however was the first to theorize, develop and actually build prototypes of his ‘dream city’. The elements of a ‘garden city’ were first proposed a 100 years earlier by a Robert Mountgomery, Azila in Gergia, USA, 1717. Sir Robert Mountgomery who was the margrave of Azilla, designed and founded his own city, as it were. His envisioned city was to be: ‘…a new city must have many advantages: Of course it must be fortified, but within its walls, there must also be fields and meadows. And geometry is definitely the appropriate form for it’ Notice here that the fortification of cities was still a key design element. Cities, especially in Europe were still fa-

mously built behind fortified walls and enclosures. These were war times. Therefore Sir Robert Mountgomery’s garden city was also conceptualized at the time, when the world was coming from a war and city environments were not in any desirable state, smog, traffic congestion and lack of fresh air and open space was at critical levels. Therefore an entirely new utopian idea of a city was to be made. People longed for the dream city, the-newparadise. Sir Robert Mountgomery garden city was one of the first of its generation to place nature, after security, as a key to its layout elements. Gardens, where the city inhabitants would grow their own food were central to the plan and also public squares linked by yet more green boulevards. The plan even stretched the idea of city ecology and biodiversity by proposing large squares complete with domestic animals roaming freely! Fast track a hundred years to (1898) Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City’s of To-Morrow: Ebenezer Howard’ garden city concept was not only a dream but he actually built a city based on his concepts and explained the city’s principle structures as below: ‘I managed to purchase 6,000 (2400 hectares) of land to build a city of 32 000 inhabitants there. Of these, 20 000 work in the agricultural green belt. The houses stand on 6 by 40 meter plots and built by building societies representing the citizen’s cooperative enterprises. Every citizen must also make a contribution to the public and social buildings. This great idea was only possible because the land was community-owned’. In addition to the above, all the products were manufactured, by local cooperatives creating local economy. The rest of the city working inhabit-

Mr Horward’s Garden City was principally built on: • Planned Dispersal and Connectivity: shift people and industries from the city to towns that can provide services, employment, and culture. • Central radiating layout and Limit of Town Size: Axial, geometric and centred plan layout radiating from the Central City to allow for shops and services, in addition to open country. The satellite garden city has 32 000 inhabitants, while the Central City has 58 000 people with the entire project comprising of 250 000 inhabitants. • Amenities: The city to have town centre composed of cultural public buildings such as; town hall, concert halls, theatre, museums, and library grouped around a square and linked with green avenues connected to the Central Park. • Town and Country Relationship: define areas for the town and agriculture. • Planning Control: plan roads, zones, building codes, and population densities in advance and Housing is built by homeowners cooperatives and city government has no control of what these should be or like except that they be healthy an safe • Neighbourhoods and green boulevards: divide town into wards with Grande Avenues; 130m wide avenues with landscaped avenue boulevards linking to the central park • Municipal and Co-operative Enterprise: allow for free industry and trade What is clearly critical to Mr Howard’s garden cities is that they were outskirts, or suburbs to a much lager Central City. On their own they would not be viable. These groups of cities around a metropolitan larger city were meant to provide central city workers with a slum-smoke free and sociable healthy life. In Mr Howard’s words, he described his idealistic city life as: ‘…I am convinced that the marriage of town and country has turned my ideal into reality: health-recreation-education’. In 1907, Letchworth City, in Hertfordshire, UK was opened. This was the first realisation of Mr Howard’s garden city idea. The city was built on 16 000 hectares of land, built on axial, geometrical and centred city with main square at the centre and streets radiating from it. Letchworth was built not far from London and therefore provided the much needed green space and fresh air breakaway from the noisy, smog filled London. Housing cooperatives built and owned homes with social amenities such as shared kitchens and communal institutional buildings.

This however is where the idealistic dream of Letchworth ended. The second phase of the cities development saw: • Circular geometric concept of the city ignored due to lack of land for growth • The agricultural green belts were disconnected from the city due to new economic changes and forced a break from Mr Howard original thinking. • As the city grew increasingly most people commuted to work in nearby London, reducing Letchworth to a suburb settlement with not urban fabric of its own. London could no provide the principles of Howard’s Central City. All in all as the city expanded, the original goals gradually disappeared and principle drive to the morals of the garden city wee diluted and Letchworth become neither garden village nor suburb. A new age of technology was slowly shaping up in the horizon, meaning that the age of idealism and romanticized utopian ways of life were less attractive. It is worth noting that this was not the only experimentation with Howard’s theories, other cities such as Welwyn outside London, Das Frankfurt, by Frank Lloyd Wright (Broadacre City), and Canberra in Australia, and many more others. Also many other cities have been developed around idealist concepts. Therefore the Garden City concept is a one of many utopian ideas that proved impossible to turn to reality, in true keeping of life not conforming to planned preset ideas. GABORONE CITY GARDEN CONCEPT FAILURES The origins of the ideas of creating a city free of racial prejudice, with ample access to untainted land, access to water, access to the rail line and a new symbol of the nation set a pretty tough brief for the then inexperienced planners of the city. Many world events and critical thinking were thick in the air and it is no wonder that the planners, some of whom were, Rev. J.D. Jones (missionary), Victoria Namane (veteran teacher), Laurie Atkinson (bank manager), Messrs Russell and Thebe and G.F. Cornish and W. T.W. Large (Sandy Grant, Mmegi) decided to benchmark on an attractive new urban concept at the time. It is around this time, 1960’s that Letchworth City was being touted as the pinnacle of Sir Howard’s refreshing ideas of garden cities. It is no wonder that the planners decided to base their plans on Sir Howard’s ‘garden city‘ concept. This very decision to import a truly foreign concept without readjusting to Botswana’s context in my view set up the first building blocks of failure of the so called garden city in Gaborone. The plans built on a utopian idea meant from the start, few local inhabitants of this brand new city could understand nor appreciate what the garden city concept was all about. This lack of appreciation of local context

issues such as: • Integration of neighbouring settlements into the concept set a ticking time bomb to be triggered by among other things desire for land as the city grew into neighbouring villages of Batlokwa and Bakwena. • The local communities had established production methods which if made a part of the city would have provided opportunities for sustenance. Since the Garden city concept was inherently a suburban idea servicing a ‘Central City’, then it can be safely said that the original placement on this a framework for an isolated city in Africa with no advanced transport network was wrongly placed too. Critically, the failures of the garden city unravelled soon even before the mortar on the brand new building even set with the springing up of Old Naledi settlement along the railway line. What the garden city did not anticipate was the inevitable migrations of people from villages to the city in seek of better economic situations. In its formations in Europe, the concept was based on providing a fresh escape out of the smog clogged cities in Europe’s post war, but in Botswana the reverse was true. People immediately flocked to Gaborone in seeking of employment opportunities, which were previously sought as far as Johannesburg mines. Soon the population barriers of 16 000 originally envisaged were broken and shortage of amenities, housing and others were immediately inherited by the new city. The weakness of the straight jacket numbers prescription for cities and places where people live is that real life events cannot be micro controlled. The increase in population beyond the full capacity of garden city concept of 38 000 meant that the infrastructure immediately failed. This infrastructure failure is still visible today with the Main Mall area not coping to accommodate any more growth with the original infrastructure. Probably the biggest failure of the concept is its fixation with technical or almost mechanical aspects of settlements, such as water, roads, gardens, transport and less on people and their cultures. Ultimately cities are made by the people that inhabit them. As Gaborone was meant to be a brand new city with a brand new population, there was not significant emphasis on ‘people’ who will inhabit this city. Therefore the city adopted a neutral interface with no cultural symbols and hence ended with a soulless place with not recognizable identity. One can even highlight just even how the parliament bears no resembles (drawing its inspiration instead from a lamella structure construction with Spanish roots) any traits that Batswana as a people are know for in their multiplicity. In fact one sees this absolute disregard of our cultural traits in most all of our civic buildings, including the just completed High Court of appeal.

BOIDUS FOCUS Classifieds WELCOME

DIARY/EVENTS/ACTIVITIES

BOIDUS FOCUS CLASSIFIEDS

Tenders, Jobs, Events | October 2012

TENDERS / JOBS MEDIA RELEASE Friday 28th Sept 2012

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A high level private public sector dialogue forum that attracts participants from Botswana and the region.

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PROPERTY LISTINGS

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PPADB WILL NOT ACCEDE TO ANY REQUEST FOR WAIVERS OR SPECIAL TREATMENT TO FAST TRACK LATE APPLLICATIONS FOR CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION IN ORDER TO MEET TENDER DEADLINES. Mandatory Registration for tendering As the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) continues to register contractors in the area of works and non-works (Service providers, Suppliers and Consultants), some contractors who submitted applications for late registration are constantly approaching the Board requesting for waivers or special treatment for their applications to be fast tracked ahead of others to allow them to meet tender closing dates. Registration lead-time is 6 weeks The Board has come up with measures to address the high volume of registration applications and respond within six (6) weeks. Fairness and equity principle The Board upholds the principle of fairness and equity. The Board will not favour some contractors over others by fast tracking their registration. Feedback on the status of registration. Enquiries on the status of registration may be directed to the Helpdesk at 360 2061. PPADB Application forms downloadable online www.ppadb.co.bw. Contractors with access to the internet are urged to download the registration forms from the website www.ppadb.co.bw. For further information contact; Ms. Ditapole Chibua-Tsheboeng [Public Relations and Education Manager, PPADB] Direct Line: 360 2017/4 Website: www.ppadb.co.bw

AMCO BUILDING CONSTRUCTION (PTY) LTD P O BOX 20712 BONTLENG, BOTSWANA TEL: 3181490 FAX: 3181492 A leading construction company is looking for a suitable candidate for the following positions:

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• Should have Dimploma in Construction Management and at least Quantity Surveying with 5 years experience in the field. • Self motivated and self driven candidate. • It is open to both citizens and non citizens.

• Should have NCC in Building Construction with 3 - 5 years experience in the field • Self motivated and self driven candidate • It is open to both citizens and non citizens

BENSTEP ENGINEERING (PTY) LTD Is an Electrical / Mechanical contracting co based in Botswana advertising for the following post: The applicant should have knowledge of: Installing & maintaining: • Elevators • standby generators • pressure pumps • street lights / overhead lines (L.V & H.V) • CCTV • electric fencing • firealarms • solar systems. • Should have at least 5 years experience as an electrical supervisor/senior technician with technical skills in electrical power Send application and CV to: The Manager, Benstep Engineering (Pty) Ltd, P. O. Box 25167, Tel/Fax (267) 3916429, Gaborone Closing date: 31/10/2012

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BOIDUS FOCUS Classifieds Property Tips | October 2012

8 TIPS FOR PRICING YOUR HOME IN A BUYER’S MARKET

Getting ready to sell? The more you know about conditions in your local market, the better your chances of getting the best possible price for your home. Getting ready to sell? The more you know about conditions in your local market, the better your chances of getting the best possible price for your home.

If you’re not using a real-estate agent, it’s especially important to use the Internet, visit open houses in your area through available media listings.

It’s tough being the seller in a buyer’s market. But you can improve your odds with the right research.

But you also need to realize that the paperwork alone tells only part of the story. While sales and prices are public, many times seller concessions are not.

In many cases, making a smart deal and getting the best price come down to studying your market and being an educated seller. “You’ve got to know more than you would have if you’d sold a year ago,” says William Poorvu, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School and author of the upcoming book “Creating and Growing Real Estate Wealth.” “If you want to protect yourself, you have to become knowledgeable.” 1. Recognize that housing markets are local. Home prices are like the weather — very different in different areas. What you need to know: What’s the demand for a house like yours in your area? Look at comparables for similar houses. Study prices and sales for one year ago, six months ago, three months ago and current numbers, says Gaylord. What are the trends? Are prices going up or down — and by how much? How many days are homes staying on the market? If they are on the market longer, how much of that could be seasonal? In many areas, spring and summer are the busy seasons.

2. Analyze who is buying and selling in your market. What’s your competition? Who are the buyers, and why are they shopping? Are you competing against a flood of new houses from builders eager to sell, or are you selling a newer home in an area where most of the housing stock is older? 3. Ask the professionals. Don’t ignore the elephant in the living room. When you interview real-estate agents, ask about the market conditions for your area and price range. Specifically, ask about the “absorption rate,”. What that means: In the current conditions with the current inventory, how long would it take the market to absorb, or sell, all the houses on the market? If the supply is much larger than the demand, ask potential agents how they would “price to offset that inventory,” 4. Know what your house is worth. Talk to a handful of agents. Get an appraisal from a certified professional appraiser. Look at your comparables. Taken together, that information will give you a pretty good idea of what your home is currently worth.

5. Consider strategic pricing. Here’s how it works: If prices in your area are dropping 1% each month, and you want to sell within the next three months, you take 3% off your price right off the bat. So if you were going to put your home on the market for P400, 000, you set the price at roughly P388, 000.

“see if you can delay the sale,” Otherwise, in a lot of markets, sellers have “to be willing to accept a pretty good haircut over what they thought their home was worth last year”

The upside: You’ll have the competitive edge over the guy who’s dropping his price every month, without the air of desperation. Plus, in a market where prices are falling, you’ll make more money if you sell quickly.

But for situations where the move is optional (or you might be able to rent the property until your local market improves), waiting is a solid option.

The downside: Predicting the market is a tough call, even for the pros. And it’s really difficult to raise the price if your market starts to rebound. 6. Rebate your “commission.” If you’re selling it yourself and need to move quickly, consider subtracting half of what would have been the commission from the sale price. The standard commission is about 6% (5 % for sole mandate, 6% open mandate), so if you subtract 3%, your P300, 000 house would go on the market for P291, 000.

The downside: If the house doesn’t sell and you end up hiring an agent, you’ll need to cover the commission, which may mean raising your sale price or taking a smaller profit. 7. Evaluate whether you really have to sell now. If you want to get the best possible price for your home and the local market is tanking,

The downside of waiting: The market could decline or your circumstances could change to the point that you might need to sell quickly.

Just because you’ve already planted that “For Sale” sign doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind if you’re not seeing the interest you expected. “If you know there are no sales or sales are decreasing, and you have the opportunity,” taking it off the market is a decent solution”. 8. Assess the market where you plan to buy. If you’re selling one house and buying another, look at the market where you plan to move. “It might be that, with the housing there, it’s a great time to buy.” Adapted from: By Dana Dratch, Bankrate.com Disclaimer: Boidus Media does not provide real estate adversary services. Information given here is for reference purposes only. Boidus Media nor its advertisers will not be liable for any miss-application of information contained here.

WE ASK THE EXPERTS- MARKET VALUE (MV), PROPERTY PRICE INFLATION, WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT? The Real Estate Institute Of Botswana (REIB) M. C. Maje And Economist Dr Keith Jefferis Maje Maje

REIB President

1. What is the role of Real Estate Agents and or Property Valuers in property pricing? • • • • •

•

• •

The role of real estate agents, is to market and sell/ rent real estate on behalf of the owners or investors. The advice on how best the property should be handled in order to safeguard the client investment, they have code of conduct, which they abide by in assisting clients. Agents use market evidence and experience to advice clients on a fair price or rental, which can be charge or achieved. This is usually not far from the market rate. Valuers on the other hand use historic evidence to determine market values of the subject properties. Market Value is a price agreed by a willing buyer and a willing seller without compulsion, this is not in anyway influenced by the valuer. The basis of valuation is to establish MV of a property, not to set or influence the price. If hypothetically, the valuer was to value the property at MV which is higher than what the willing buyer and seller are willing to settle for, the market will reject this. E.g if the low cost was overvalued to say P1, 000,000.00 there will be no takers. There is clear market mechanism, which checks and balances the valuation out comes and the sale price. It is unfortunate that the market or consumers in Botswana are failing to grasp the basics of economics, demand and supply is what drives prices across the world and Botswana is no exception. There is no way that estate agents and valuers can drive prices very high and until Batswana start employing economics 101, they will be stuck in this believe which has no clear explanation and justification.

Dr. Kieth Jefferis 2. Our property market is said to be driven by ‘demand and supply’ scenario. Can you explain what this is and what is? Property is a product just like any other products in the market. These products haven’t stagnated in price as the pula lost value and inflation played havoc in the economic sphere. Demand and supply has kept the price of tastic very high and it still growing. The same goes for property. The waiting list for people hoping to be allocated land in Gaborone has grown faster than the way parcels of land are allocated. This has put a lot of pressure on the limited resource that we have available. This artificial shortage of land, which has been created by our land policy, will forever drive land prices high. Its just basic logic, that if you make something available in small and limited portions, it becomes very expensive; the same applies if you release it in large quantities. Should at one stage our land policy change allow for more land in the market, you would see over night the property prices correcting themselves and eventually collapsing? Our neighbour, South Africa, which has a land policy, which allows for any development of land parcels, have seen influx of residential estate development. Right now the demand for these properties is subdued and this affected the value of the properties. The day that happens here, this will make property an undesirable investment. So far property is the only asset class where Batswana who have invested in it have made meaningful return on investment. 3. What tools do these professionals have/ use to determine property prices? What information do Valuers use or access that is used to arrive at a property price? Point of correction, valuers don’t set property prices as you are alluding to, they merely determine market value (MV) of a property. The seller usually sets the price and it is usually have a minimum of these ingredients, location of the property, unique selling point of the property versa vie similar products. The input cost in the property being sold. Even you are a reporter, you need to do a bit of research to help us do away with this misconception that valuers set prices.

Economist

1. Please share with us what the impacts of ‘inflated’ property prices are and what their impacts would be on the economy? “Inflated” property prices can be an economic problem for various reasons. If prices are too high relative to incomes, then fewer people will be able to buy or rent adequate housing, which has an impact on the quality of life. If high prices lead people to borrow excessively, then they may have problems servicing their loans and this can lead to household solvency problems, or “debt stress”, and possible defaults on housing loans. If this is widespread, it can in turn lead to problems for banks from bad debts. 2. Property prices in Botswana are said to be driven by ‘demand and supply’, what are the dangers of this market scenario and what can be done to fix it? In a way it is encouraging that high property prices are driven by demand and supply rather than a “speculative bubble” – the latter is potentially far more damaging, as values get out of line with underlying valuations. High prices driven by demand indicate that the economy is growing. However, supply needs to keep up with demand in order to keep prices reasonable. The main supply problem relates to a shortage of low cost housing. Solving this needs a number of interventions, including an increase in the supply of land for low cost housing – especially in Gaborone, where low productivity agricultural land on the outskirts of the city needs to be converted to residential use. Small, cheap plots with basic services need to be made available to low income households, who can then build their own housing. There is also a role for greater densification of residential areas within urban areas to make more efficient use of available land.

BOIDUS FOCUS Classifieds PROPERTY SHOWCASE Ground Floor, Unit 13, Kgale Terrace Gaborone International Finance Park (Opposite Game City) Gaborone, Botswana Tel: (+267) 3911 890 Fax: (+267) 3911 891 A CLASSIC BEAUTY SOLE MANDATE This well appointed home situated within the Phakalane Golf Estate has 4 Bedrooms, 2 ensuite and third bathroom. Patios upstairs and downstairs with views of the Golf Course. This property needs to be seen to be fully appreciated.

Property Listings | October 2012

PROPERTY FOR RENT bw.KnightFrank.com Contact Tshepo or Abigail: tshepo.motlhabi@bw.knightfrank.com abigail.morokotso@bw.knightfrank.com

• 4 Bedrooms (2 En Suite) • 3 Bathrooms • 3 Reception Rooms • Stand Size: Approx 1442 m² • Building Size: Approx 650 m² • House Full Title • Parking: 2 Garage(s) • Additional Buildings: Staff Accommodation (1 Beds, 1 Baths)

Phakalane

P30,000pm

Immaculate Five bedroom house with an all round garden. The modern house comprises of a formal lounge, TV Room, open plan (dining and kitchen), gym room, games room, bar opening into the patio and swimming pool. All bedrooms ensuite.

PROPERTY FOR SALE

Maruapula

P18,000pm

Four bedrooms and three baths, lounge, open plan (dining and kitchen), conservatory, swimming pool, garden and large yard space.

Phakalane

P17,000pm

Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, lounge, dining & staff accomodation.

Knight Frank Botswana (Pty) LTD P.O. Box 655, 183 Queens Road, Gaborone T: +267 3953 950 | F: +267 3951 480

BOIDUS FOCUS Classifieds DIY, Product Showcase | October 2012

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CARTOONS: Eureka Radiposo

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Featured Editorial Page 13

Lobatse - Safeguarding a special place by Sandy Grant

used only by a regional High Court, the BMC has fallen on hard times, the quarry was closed, the railway’s passenger service has been discontinued and numerous, major buildings have been abandoned and are unused and semi derelict. More positively it has gained a vast new Mental Hospital, a National Health Institute, a stadium and very recently a top class park with associated amenities.

>>> FROM PAGE 01

The other day I watched something that I had not previously witnessed but which I now believe to be one of the more remarkable sights in this country - a BR freight train entering Lobatse from the north. Yes, trains do go up and down the country with unexciting regulatory but despite many years of driving to Lobatse from the north, I had never realized that the railway’s approach to it involves a steepish climb, a doddle for a decent car or truck but evidently tough going for a very long, very heavily laden freight train. Fascinated, we watched as this particular train inched its way forward up that challenging but not so obvious gradient. Its burden was not soda ash but something exceptionally heavy. If this is a sight which can only be witnessed in that one place it adds yet another element to Lobatse’s considerable allure. Lobatse’s first settler immigrants must have come from the east, certainly not, as with that train, from the north. They left the remains of their enormous settlements as evidence of their appreciation of this wonderful, intriguing, geographical site. These sites are physically inaccessible and anyway, as should be expected, are located on privately owned freehold farms. The British, not least Cecil Rhodes, coming from the south and with different considerations in mind, squeezed a railway line from Mafikeng through a tiny gap in Lobatse’s mountainous hills, creating an entirely new south to north communications link. This remarkable initiative quickly, displaced the old missionaries road which ran well to the west of the new town. But people cannot survive without water and Lobatse’s residents today will be well aware that those who came before them in such huge numbers would have been as water supply conscious as they are today. . In later years, other immigrants had precisely the same need, not least those who drove those mammoth water guzzling railway engines. Somehow – with the dam they constructed in Peleng, and with, I assume, good yielding boreholes, it was able to keep going for a hundred years and provide the basis for a modern age settlement which was unrelated to, and certainly hugely different from those which had preceded it. The new Lobatse came into existence as a direct result of Kgosi Bathoen I’s agreement to give the British Administration a chunk of land through which a rail line could be laid. The Admin-

istration promptly passed on most of this land to the British South Africa Company which carved it up into freehold farms. It then sold these farms to European settlers. Somewhere in the physical middle, between one newly established freehold farm and another, on both sides of the railway, two kinds of settlement began to emerge – seemingly, no provision having been made, or even envisaged for the emergence of any kind of new town. On the western side of the railway line, the British Protectorate Administration, presumably responding to pressures from the newly settled farmers wanting forms of control that they individually could not provide, posted a District Commissioner there, then a Magistrate and then provided successively the usual colonial establishment mix, agriculture, veterinary, and eventually the country’s one and only High Court. But this new Lobatse which had come into existence as a result of the displacement of its previous occupants, the Bangwaketse now found itself devoid of the unskilled labour that it soon required. The result was that a parallel form of development – the beginnings of Peleng - began to the east on the other side of the dividing railway where a new and very different kind of settler was beginning to arrive who was eager to obtain a paid, secure job. Railway Lobatse, however, was pinned in on both its western and eastern sides by freehold farms so that those first settlers, who are believed to have arrived around 1905, were able to make themselves homes only because one owner of a freehold farm, a certain Rothenburg, allowed them to do so. On its western side, Lobatse needed low level clerks for its administrative offices, assistants at the newly established Meat Commission, assistants in the stores, waiters and cooks in its hotels, domestic servants, road sweepers, garbage collectors and people to work in the quarry. Most of these people worked on the western side of the railway line but lived to the east of it, in Peleng. Because Lobatse was a growth centre of sorts, being well known as the home of the national Judiciary and the Botswana Meat Commission. Circumstances have changed, however, and the place has recently taken some very hard knocks. The Teacher Training Centre was closed, the High Court and Court of Appeal was moved to Gaborone, leaving the old premises to be

Despite recent efforts by the Town Council, Lobatse still needs to promote itself more effectively. A first requirement now must be to produce both a reasonably priced illustrated history and something a good deal more substantial. To this end, a trawl should be made of everything that has been published and written about Lobatse, including UB dissertations. With a follow up check in the National Archives, a gathering together of oral history, Peleng’s in particular, and an attempt to document and record, a very worthwhile start would have been made. Lobatse also urgently needs to have its own heritage association which

should follow the two towns in one town formula because the halves are distinctive and with their own specific needs and problems. This association should seek to pull together the many people who have an interest in it. A heritage association would provide an opportunity for them to get involved for the first time and to help

But time is getting short. Many of Lobatse’ older character buildings have already been demolished and have been replaced by new buildings, sometimes of a quite startling ugliness. Within a year or so, many more will have been lost forever. Lobatse has the people who can make a difference, people who can reverse current

“Lobatse also urgently needs to have its own heritage association which should follow the two towns in one town formula because the halves are distinctive and with their own specific needs and problems. This association should seek to pull together the many people who have an interest in it. shape the town’s future. The two sections should cross relate, share ideas and information. Each of them should work out programs and tactics and decide on priorities and combine to create a single web site. Both should find ways and means of quickly producing conservation plans, hopefully with the support and cooperation of the Town Council. They should look long and hard at the town’s physical fabric, make special efforts to safeguard Lobatse’s still unusual main street and set out to educate and inform and to draw in some of those who normally prefer to stand on the side lines.

trends and save much that is so special to it. It is also bound to have groups of people with their own specific interests, the Muslim community with, not least, Crescent School; the railway fraternity, the farmers, the traders and those who helped the refugees during the horror years. The list can go on and on. But Lobatse is also unusual in having so many friends outside it who would want to support any local initiative which is aimed at saving what is special and good. Get everyone involved and a great deal can be achieved. May I be one of those early in the queue to sign up!

Featured Editorial Page 14

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

PLANNED APOCALYPSE- Presentation by L. Mosienyane at this year’s BIDP AGM

What Urban Designers Do

by Leta Mosienyane

CYCLES OF IMPLEMENTATION CLOSED SYSTEM (Preferred) [left image] OPEN SYSTEM [right image] • Sprawling Cities • Unattractive Spaces • Death to innovation

The Problem has nothing to do with HISTORY. • Lack of the National Spatial Development Framework • Lack of Coordination of the various ministries and departments forming the development system • Lack of a closed developmentto-implementation system

•

Lack of critical development agents including Urban Design in the development cycle/system Lack of continuous staff training programmes including CPD

Implementing Agents In Silos: • DTRP • Dept. Of Surveys & Mapping • Ministry of Local Govt.

• •

The urban designer operates across a wide range of scales, from regional and citywide to the level of individual buildings and can also specialise in many built and natural environment fields with activities ranging from research, analysis and policy to design and implementation. Fields of research and analysis include: • Visual impact assessments • Conservation, heritage and special place assessments • Site, precinct and area analysis and assessment

Ministry of Finance & Dev. Planning Dept. Of Roads

Working across the scales, the urban designer will produce or support the development of: • Metropolitan and regional spatial frameworks and structure plans • Local and district spatial frameworks and structure plans • Local and precinct urban design frameworks • Precinct and site layouts and subdivisions • Individual sites, building complexes and buildings

Development Plan Process 1. The development Planning System starts and ends with the Department of Town & Regional Planning (DTRP) 2. Implementing agents operate in silos and on their own

Urban design is extensively involved in the preparation of a wide range of policy and guideline processes, producing: • Urban design policies for a range of built environment components such as, housing, street design, landscape, cityscape and heritage • Guidelines for various aspects of settlement design including housing, mixed use precincts, economic nodes, protected natural and heritage environments, etc • Site development guidelines for greenfield sites and urban upgrading precincts

• • • •

DTRP: Produces Development Plan Dept. Of Surveys & Mapping: Produces general plans Dept. Of Roads: Builds roads Local Govt: Implement Infrastructure on their own

•

DBES: Completely lost

Staff Training Programme Lack of Compulsory CPD • Planners do not keep up to current trends and best practice • Recycling / Pouring of old wine into new bottles Recommendations: What would be recommended are: 1. Introduce some of the critical development agents including Urban Design in the development cycle/ system • The art of creating and shaping cities and towns • The arrangement and design of buildings, public spaces, transport systems, services, and amenities. • Giving form, shape, and character the city. • A framework that orders the elements into a network of streets, squares, and blocks. • Blends architecture, landscape architecture, and city planning to make attractive, functional urban areas. • Making connections between people and places, movement and urban form, nature and the built fabric. • Creation of places with distinct beauty and identity. • Transcends planning and transportation policy, architectural design, development economics, engineering and landscape. 2. Establishment of the National Spatial Development Framework 3. Coordination of the various ministries and departments forming the development system 4. Develop a closed development-toimplementation system 5. Review and develop new staff training programmes including CPD

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Education Page 15

No More White Elephants: Mshini Wam Community Architects Assisted By University Of Botswana Planning Students by Walter Fieuw, CORC

The formal and the informal co-exist in Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton, Cape Town. Joe Slovo Park is a formal township established in the 1990s when City planners sought to eradicate informality, especially that of Marcomi Beam, and establish a lowincome neighborhood. Those who were not catered for in the formal houses invaded open spaces in the newly laid-out township. This “re-informalisation” resulted in a juxtaposition of formal houses and informal backyarder shacks. In Mshini Wam, one such neighborhood of backyarder shacks located in-between the boundaries of formal RDP houses, the shacks are densely arranged and struggle to gain access to basic services. Backyarders had to pay up to R50 a week for water they fetched from the formal houses before the City installed a few taps. From this snapshot of Google Earth, the densely arranged shacks in-between formally allocated plots with RDP houses are clearly visible (Mshini Wam is located in the block between Democracy Drive, Hlosi Drive and Ingwe Drive in the greater Joe Slovo Park) Joe Slovo Park as a whole has been

characterised by big and small fires – such as the October 2006 fire that destroyed 42 shacks leaving 70 residents homeless – and violence. Mshini Wam has also endured such fires and approached the City of Cape Town for emergency relief services. It was at this stage that the City introduced the community to Informal Settlement Network (ISN). After the community completed the enumeration, they moved on to measure the shacks and prepare spatial plans for the blocking out of their settlement. This week (27 February to 2 March), 13 students from the University of Botswana’s Architecture and Planning school joined Mshini Wam “community architects” to finalise spatial plans for clusters. The idea is to move shacks in the path of an U-shaped road that will become the circle road connecting Democracy Drive and Hlosi Drive. This will ensure a critical pathway for emergency services. Thabo, one of the community architects, notes that the settlement has strong solidarity and a sense of community. In their settlement constitution, no one is allowed to waste unnecessary water at the public taps

area by for instance, washing their hands with no bucket. This is done to ensure that minimal stagnant water builds up where children will contact water-born diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever. Any one that does not agree with this arrangement will be fined with a R100 penalty or asked to leave the settlement. They have also used their collective savings to upgrade the public taps area by building a concrete base. “In projects like these, the community does its own planning” said Mr. Tema, lecturer of the University of Botswana. “The City can then partner and collaborate with the community and deliver services in the newly created open spaces. This opens possibilities to improve living conditions in-situ”. A group of students working on the mapping of the cluster close to the Hlosi Drive exitroad mentioned that working with a community that has taken the initiative shifted their ideas of collaboration. “In such an approach there are no white elephants because they are the ones making these plans. They own the process and there are no wasted resources.”

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Property/Finance Page 16

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

What is Land Banking? by Boidus Admin

Land banking was a mechanism initiated in some western European cities for directing urban development in early 1900’s. Under this mechanism land is resumed by public authorized organizations and will be held for future use to implement public land use policies. Evolution of land banking in western countries Land banking as a mechanism of city government’s involvement in the land development process was first initiated in the Amsterdam, the Netherlands in late 1890’s. Such mechanism was also adopted by several western countries such as Sweden (since 1904), Canada (since 1950’s) and France (since 1958) during the last century.

Landbanking is about speculation, and this mean you buy something today, so you can sell it more tomorrow. TPC Australia Land Bank will assist you with all the due diligence, they can also provide you with all the information that you require to make a fully informed decision as to which way you should go with a block of land. The can direct you to registered Town planners and any professional you need to speak to in relation to you making that purchase. HYPERTHETICAL. The way things work is you buy a 100 block of land today say worth 1 million dollars. Nothing can be developed on that land for at least 10 to 15 years, depending on the urban growth

boundary. You might be able to split the block into 10 ten acre blocks which on today’s market, might be worth $250,000per block if subdividable now. Which potentially makes the block worth 2.5 million dollars Even if the block is never subdivided, in ten to 15 years time the historical facts show that the block will be worth double and this can be shown by evidence in black and white. In 10 to 15 years when the block is subdividable and you split the block onto 10 ten acre blocks then the blocks would be retail at $500,000 per piece which makes a return of 5 million dollars for your outlay of 1 million So regardless weather the block is subdividable or not your investment is secure in good old Australian land which is as they say “as safe as houses”.

profit, or refinancing and continuing with the property development process. 3. RIDING THE PROPERTY CYCLE – You can secure a potential property development sites in a “soft” market. At these times, completing a project may not be particularly lucrative, so you can buy these sites at a good price. As the market moves on, and it always does, the combination of a stronger market and owning a block of land with a D.A. in a prime position allows me to complete my project and make a substantial profit.

What does it mean to be a home owner? A home owner also called owner occupied is a person who lives in and owns their home. The home which is a fixed property can be an apartment or a house. A home owner can also acquire property for the purpose of letting out for rental income. How can one be a home owner? Most homes are acquired by means of purchasing from real estate developers or previous home owners. Some are however inherited while some are constructed by owners. Acquiring a home can be very expensive for an individual or a family as it may cost several times their annual income. Often the individual (or family or company) would not have the means of raising the funds required to acquire the house immediately from savings. Attempting to Save for the purpose of acquiring a house may take several years before the enough funds are accumulated. It is for this reason that an individual (or family or company) may approach a financier to assist with the required funds. This is done by means of a home loan (also known as a mortgage loan). At Bank Gaborone we offer our customers an opportunity to realise their dreams of becoming home owners.

Who is eligible to obtain a home loan at Bank Gaborone? An individual or organisation with a regular income can apply for a home loan facility. The Bank will conduct all necessary credit reference checks.

http://www.australianlandbank.com/f_landbank.htm

Is a deposit required? The minimum deposit required is only 10% of the purchase price or building cost and 25% for purchase of vacant land. For vacant land, the Bank will finance maximum of 75% of the open market value or purchase price, whichever is the lesser YEM Graphics

2. ADDING VALUE - by obtaining property development approvals you can add substantial value to a site. Once you obtain a development approval for subdivision or for multiple dwellings, apartments or townhouses, you’ve taken out one element of the property development risk – the council approval process. This makes your site more attractive to developers who may be prepared to pay a premium for it and it gives you the option of selling for a

by Charlotte Moeketsi

What is a home loan? At Bank Gaborone we understand that at different stages in your life, whether you are single, married or with a growing family you have changing housing needs; therefore we provide the best financing option to help you own the property that will meet those needs. A Bank Gaborone home loan is a long term finance provided to you as a home owner or prospective owner for the specific purpose of acquiring land or a house, improving or building fixed property for residential purposes. The loan is granted against the security of a mortgage bond over the relevant property in favour of the bank.

Why is Land Banking a good investment strategy? 1. LAND APPRECIATES – we all know that it’s the land component of your property investment that appreciates, so buying a property close to its land value can be a smart strategy.

A Guide to Owning Your Own Home

Monthly repayments The monthly repayment may not exceed 30% of monthly income (single or joint). Repayments are effected after registration of the bond. What is the loan tenor Years and rate (pricing)? The maximum loan repayment period is 25 years or retirement age 65. Our base lending rate is the prime lending rate. This means that the interest rate charged floats with the prevailing prime rate What are the requirements? 1. INDIVIDUALS • Personal balance sheet or Statement of Assets and Liabilities (form attached to the application form) • Proof of current residential address: utility bill (i.e. electricity/water) • Original/certified copy of Marriage Certificate/ante-nuptial contract/decree absolute (if applicable) • Past 3 months’ bank statements • Original/certified copy of your Omang (Batswana)/passport (expats) • Original/certified copy of work and residence Permits (expats) • Latest original pay slip/proof of income 2. COMPANIES, PARTNERSHIPS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS • Last three years’ financial statements (management accounts if latest financials not available) • Cash flow projections for 5 years • Memorandum and Articles of Association (companies) • Partnership Agreement (partnerships) • Certificate of Incorporation (companies) • Constitution (other institutions) • Resolution to borrow (certified by company secretary) • Proof of shareholding (Forms 2 + 5) • Proof of current residential address : utility bill for each Director • Personal balance sheet for each Director • Proof of identity for each director 3. PROOF OR PROPERTY/PURCHASE OF PROPERTY • Valuation report (please contact home loans department for details) • Copy of Deed of Sale • Copy of Title Deed 4. BUILDING LOANS • Approved plans and building permit • Three (3) signed building quotes • Bill of quantities • Soil analysis report • Architect’s profile • Contractor’s profile Contact Bank Gaborone on: Email: homeloans@bankgaborone.co.bw Tel: +267 390 11 33 / +267 367 15 07 Customer Service: +267 713 333 00

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Comments and Letters Page 17

EDITOR'S NOTE

Minister of Lands & Housing- Ignore Peoples Concerns at your own peril by H. Killion Mokwete, RIBA Chartered Architect

Talking to many inhabitants of our cities, there is always more than one issue they are grumpy about regarding the state of their cities. Some of the most complained about issues range from traffic grid lock that plights our cities and towns (esp. Gabs.), lack of housing (high cost of rent), lack of things to do (recreational activities or venues), high levels of crime and muggings, untidy state of our streets, unattractiveness of our cities (lack of identity)…the list is endless. These and many more have been part of our small talk for as long as one can remember and yet there has not been any credible platforms created to engage with these issues. More than often these have appeared to be dismissed or disregarded by those that are supposed to be addressing them for they know very well that we are just a nation of talkers and no action. But not anymore. The recent movement to petition the Minister of Housing on Land and Housing shortage could just be the start of something that should not be undermined. Started by young people from across the nation Boidus Team with shared concerns, the issue of lack EDITOR of housing is not only pertinent but also H. Killion Mokwete one that even the Office of the President DESIGN recognizes as a problem through its housBridget T. MacKean ing initiative(s). The Minister better take JOURNALISM this seriously for it could be the start of a Keeletsang P. Dipheko ground swell movement that could have Kibo Ngowi unpredictable consequences. Fuelled and SALES made possible through the power of soTshiamo Kabomo cial networking and instant texting, this DISTRIBUTION movement is just what we need to enNako Kabomo gage policy makers on issues that affect GUEST COLUMNIST our urban dwellers. For far too long we Jan Wareus have all complained and not acted, but its Othata Batsetswe our time to not only act but provide soluGUEST FEATURE tions that will empower ordinary people Leta Mosienyane to make a noticeable change in their urSandy Grant ban environments.

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Comments & Letters

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Estate agents threatened by property websites [uk.finance. yahoo.com] New rulse could break estate agents’ grip on home sales, but would this be a good thing? Keletso BakerBoi Motsumi: wow... thats messed up...but this proposed system wouldnt be feasible on botswana..dnt u thnk?? Boidus Botswana: in Botswana, no i don't think so. For starters, we are still at formative stages of enforcing the registering of Estate agents. So I think it will take time before something like this can take place. Keletso BakerBoi Motsumi: you think it should take place in bots years from now?? Barulaganye Paakane: Advertising through the internet has been around one way on another. Opening up the sales to every Jack and Jill is

not the way to go, especially when talking about doing away with the Property Misdecreption Act. This is going to lead to the buyers being conned. Jan Wareus: Bang on - motlhogong Kim Annemarie Bekker: In Botswana I think I am right in saying there is no law against advertising your property for sale through an on-line website in fact alot of game farms and tourism related properties are advertised that way as they hope to target the international community even though in theory some of the properties they are selling are actually Tribal Land Leases. This is because they think that foreigners will pay better money. The

reality is that Botswana is like living in a goldfish bowl and there are far less than 9 degrees of separation as nearly everyone knows or is related to someone the other person knows. This means that people can just put their property for sale on facebook and probably find a buyer. The reality is that they may not have priced the property correctly and they may be taken advantage of by the buyer and find themselves in a variety of predicaments. People employ actual Estate Agents from reputable firms in order to adequately market their property to the right buyers and advise them on what price to sell at. A good agent should help them through this stressful time not just abandon them mid ship.

Finance Minister K. Matambo is reported to have pleaded with local property valuers to not inflate prices of property so that Batswana can afford homes....he is quoted in the Sunday Standard, 9/09/12 saying, ‘I would like to appeal to the Real Estate Institute to intervene in this matter of property valuations, so that we can avoid property crash in the future’. How true is that property valuers inflate house prices? >>> CONTINUED FROM PAGE 04 ARTICLE: PROPERTY VALUERS ACCUSED OF OVERPRICING by Kibo Kgowi

of SERVICED land...now, to service land is very costly if you are going to give it away for free!

Charlotte Mathula: What I’ve also noticed is that there are no valuation standards and the variations are too steep. 1 valuer can compute land rates at P400/sqm and another P650/sqm in the same area. There has to be a regulation.

Kim Annemarie Bekker I am NOT a property valuer but an Estate Agent. All I can tell you that Buyer’s are not idiots and they are not usually going to pay more for a property than what it is worth to them. They shop around and look at comparisons and think which property is best suited to their needs and what it would be worth to them and how much they can afford to pay. You will see that properties that are wrongly priced i.e. overpriced will just sit for a long time on the market. If a property is correctly priced it will sell within the first 3 weeks of listing. The thing is that with the event of internet and facebook we as Estate Agents have a much wider and easier marketing tool in that we can paste something on facebook and within minutes a Motswana earning dollars or pounds on the other side of the globe can decide they want to buy that property. Every Motswana’s dream is to own a piece of Land back home. Also there are Foreigner’s looking at the low returns they are getting in their own markets and they know a little about Botswana and see that it is a politically stable market and they decide to take a chance and put some of their money on a property in Botswana. This is NOT bad because the Motswana who decides to sell his property can actually sell it and make money unlike other countries where the citizen who owns a property

Charlotte Mathula: They calculate generally looking at the plot size, build up area, if there is a screen wall its also factored in, then the landscaping if any. But the rates they used r differenr and irregular. There has to b a standard matrix!that’s the starting point Lame Mmolawa: And the financial institutions bear a serious financial risk. Remember what ignited the world economic crash (recession), property booming in a bubble. And i absolutely agree with others-regulation!! Vincent Moapare: It seems to me that this concern is cross-cutting many sectors in Botswana...private school fees (recently debated in parliament), medical aid or hospital fees, prices of new vehicles, food prices etc. I wonder if regulating everything will be practical. Lets find out the root causes of these problems and address them instead of reacting all the time. As for the subject matter, in my own personal opinion the high demand for housing is a result of lack

looses money because the bank forecloses. The price of a property is all about a WILLING Seller and a WILLING Buyer in a hands off transaction - No one has been forced to buy and sell. The Valuers just track this trend and record it so that you as the Buyer or Seller know what the trend is. The REIB (Real Estate Institue of Botswana) is trying hard to put in place a database for all Valuers whereby they can look up all transactions in order to record recent transaction prices of similar properties. The problem we have is that we are a small country and information is not readily available so some Valuers know more about what properties sold in say Maun than others - if you want to use a Valuer, use a good one who knows the market in that particular area or town. Tamar Azoulay: A proper valuation report for residential property should be based on comparable. If the property is tribal the comparisons would be harder to find. It is crucial for us valuers to collate this information however without this a valuation report would not be accurate or factual. It would be a mere gut feeling of the valuer. At REIB we encourage the public to come forward and advise us of any ill doing by our members whether they are estate agents or valuers and It is up to the public to come forward. It is your right to ask a valuer how the property was valued. If you want to get in touch with me then feel free to send me your question to itamar@promanco.co.bw

Find Boidus on DISCLAIMER: Please note that the views expressed in 'Comments and Letters' are neither those of Boidus, its management, nor its advertisers.

Professional Practice Page 18

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Urban Low Income Access to Land and Housing in Botswana by Prof. Aloysius. Clemence Mosha [UB Department of Architecture and Planning]

LAND TENURE

Understanding Botswana’s Land Tenure by Boidus Admin [Source: Botswana Land Policy, B.M. Mathuba, Bedia]

There are three main types of land tenure system in Botswana: Freehold, Tribal land and Stateland.

Freehold Land Freehold land amounts to about 5% of the country. Freehold land, which is mainly farms, is administered under the Land Control Act which was enacted in 1975. This Act provides for the control of transactions in agricultural land. These farms are found in blocks, viz: Gantsi, Molopo, Tuli Block, South East and North East. The transfer of these farms to noncitizens is controlled through the Land Control Act. Freehold land has been reduced as it is bought to augment urban state land and smaller districts. The latest trend is that freehold farms near urban areas are being gradually converted to urban land use such as residential, commercial, industrial, etc. These conversions are controlled through the Town and Country Planning Act - which was enacted in 1977. This Act is also used to control the development of land in urban areas and settlements declared planning areas. The transfer duty rate for sale of freehold land is approximately 5%, except for agricultural land which is 30%. Freehold entitles owners to perpetual and exclusive rights to the land, and land under freehold may be sold or transferred in a private transaction without Land Board approval.

State Land State Land constitutes all urban areas (towns and cities), national parks, game reserves, forest reserves and some wildlife management areas. This makes up about 25% of the country. State land is administered under the State Land Act (1966) which empowers the President of Botswana to make and execute grants of any state land or of any interest therein. The President has however delegated these powers to the Minister responsible for land matters. In urban areas, land rights are granted under ninety nine (99) year Fixed Period State Grant (FPSG) for residential, and fifty (50) years for commercial and industrial purposes. FPSG is a one off lease where rent is paid once on acquisition and not periodically over the lifetime of the lease. FPSG was introduced in the late 1960s. The change that has taken place with regard to this land has been more on improving security of tenure, especially for the poor, who used to be issued with Certificate of Right – which are now being converted to FPSG. In rural areas stateland is zoned into Game Reserves; National Parks; Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and commercial ranches for livestock and game farming. The WMAs have been subdivided into Concession Areas that are leased out for Tourist related commercial activities. State land is administered by the Department of Lands. Recent Kgotla meetings in Tlokweng tribal area to address critical shortage of land

>>> FROM PAGE 01

middle income and 1981-84 for low income (Daily News, 2011). Waiting lists for other categories/groups of people (middle and high income)was 84,000 (Mmegi, 2010). In Mogoditshane village(peri-urban Gaborone), the waiting ist for plots stood at 140,000 in 2010. In Selebi Phikwe, for example the backlog of serviced plots was 8500 in February 2002 and this had risen to 10,345 in January 2007 (ibid) All in all, the problem is lack of land in the urban areas. In others, the problem seems to arise from delays from servicing land before it is allocated. CONCLUSION AND THE WAY FORWARD ….From the above, it can safely be said that the government of Botswana has done quite a lot in ensuring provision and access to urban housing through appropriate urban, land and housing policies and programmes. Positive steps too, have been taken to ensure that the low income segments of the urban population can

access land and houses through the site and services/squatter upgrading programme, state mass housing through the BHC and the Accelerated Land servicing Programme that has provided land across the urban areas. However, as urbanisation keeps rising, the housing crisis will intensify and the demand for housing will be even greater (Mosha 2007). …..The housing crisis can only be solved and residents helped to own their own homes if the government commits itself to a set of principle such as the right to housing by every citizen, equitable distribution of housing, and the diversification of the institutions providing housing. A restructured BHC, empowered councils, housing cooperatives, and the state are also necessary. The private sector should be mobilized and encouraged to play a greater role in land servicing and housing provision especially at the lower end of the housing market where profits might be low. Decent and affordable housing for every citizen would stimulate production of cement (lime and clay soil), production of timber, building

tiles, pipe manufacturing, and electrical wiring. A number of interventions from government are needed to facilitate the provision of housing to the poor. Key amongst these is the relaxation of regulatory standards and building codes for the urban poor. Simpler, more affordable and appropriate health and safety regulations are required, and ‘first world’ building standards must be recognised as counter-productive for providing affordable housing to the urban poor. Inconsistencies between the various land tenure regimes need the attention of government. In many cases low-income persons are ignorant of the value of the land they possess, and are often exploited by land speculators for this reason. They are also unaware of the benefits of converting to the more commercially valuable tenure system and the consequent access to finance this can provide. ….The SHHA model for urban lowcost housing finance has all the necessary elements for success, as it ad-

The allocation of state land is governed by the State Land Allocation Policy that operates on a first-come-first-served basis from waiting lists of eligible applicants that were created when the policy was announced in October 1991. Foreign-owned companies registered in Botswana can lease land for industrial and residential use.

Tribal Land Tribal (Communal) Land makes up about 70% of the country and is administered on behalf of the citizens of Botswana by the Land Boards. Tribal land in some areas is leased for a 50-year period for commercial and industrial use.

dresses precisely the relevant social stratum. However, the scheme in its present form is beset with problems, and outside intervention is needed to revitalise and reenergise the programme. Finally, as revealed in the paper, the majority of people living in SHHA areas are not plot holders but tenants and sub-tenants. This calls for a need to look at ways to improve rental tenure as a viable alternative to owneroccupation. Since there is shortage of land in urban areas it means that

some people will never have access to housing land meaning they will never be owner-occupiers. Some people in a certain stage in their life cycle might not be aspiring to own a house but may prefer to rent. There is need to introduce various tenure options apart from owner occupation. In addition, the majority of people in Botswana are very poor and they will never afford a basic urban house without a heavy government subsidy. Those people can only access decent accommodation through the improved rental tenure option.

BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012

Products Page Page 19

Plot 53609, Unit 7

Gaborone West Industrial Suppliers of: Gaborone, Botswana PO Box AD 214 ADD Architectural Aluminium Gaborone Tel: (+267) 3925384 / 95 Botswana & Glass, Curtain Wallings, Fax: (+267) 3925350 Tel: (+267) 3925395 Cell: (+267) 71321032 Shower and Patio Doors Fax: (+267)3925350

Email: grantstacydelta@gmail.com Company Profile Scotch Macdonald (Pty) Ltd. Trading as Delta Glass & Aluminium has developed a wealth of experience over the years in Botswana Architectural Glass and Aluminium supply market. Delta Glass & Aluminium is Botswana’s foremost supplier of an enormous variety of specialised glass products and Architectural aluminium applications such as Shop front systems, Curtain Wall, windows and doors, shower cubicles, skylight and Louvers and numerous other products that complement the Fenestration Industry. As an active member of the Botswana Bureau of Standards technical advisory committee we at Delta Glass & Aluminium combine the technical expertise of the most experienced glass and aluminium designers and engineers in Southern Africa to render expert opinion on all aspects of aluminium and glass fenestration, we help determine the best solutions, both technically and economically, with systems and products that have been carefully engineered and thoroughly tested to comply with the most stringent performance specifications. Operating from our 1600 square metre warehouse in Gaborone west industrial, Delta has a most comprehensive distribution network in place to service local and northern businesses with our fleet of purpose built vehicles. Most importantly, Delta boasts a team of highly experienced technical, production and management personnel focused on maintaining the high level of service and quality standards for which we are renowned.

COMPANY PROFILE

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ountain Sandstone(pty)Ltd "Best quality natural sandstone products". The beauty and versatility of Sandstones can be used to enhance any outdoor or indoor area around your property, from patios, courtyards and driveways to swimming pool surrounds and entertainment areas.

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Scotch Macdonald (Pty) Ltd. Trading as Delta Glass & Aluminium has developed a wealth of experience over the years in Botswana Architectural Glass and Aluminium supply market. Delta Glass & Aluminium is Botswana’s foremost supplier of an enormous variety of specialised glass products and Architectural aluminium applications such as Shop front systems, Curtain Wall, windows and doors, shower cubicles, skylight and Louvers and numerous other products that complement the Fenestration Industry. As an active member of the Botswana Bureau of Standards technical advisory committee we at Delta Glass & Aluminium combine the technical expertise of the most experienced glass and aluminium designers and engineers in Southern Africa to render expert opinion on all aspects of aluminium and glass fenestration, we help determine the best solutions, both technically and economically, with systems and products that have been carefully engineered and thoroughly tested to comply with the most stringent performance specifications.

Operating from our 1600 square metre warehouse in Gaborone west industrial, Delta has a most comprehensive distribution network in place to service local and northern businesses with our fleet of purpose built vehicles. Most importantly, Delta boasts a team of highly experienced technical, production and management personnel focused on maintaining the high level of service and quality standards for which we are renowned.

Contacts Makakole 72 158 78 Mafatle 72 646 814 mafatle@gmail.com Physical Address

Plot 54210, G-West Industrial, Bus Rank opposite Fruits & Veg

Makakole 72 158 78 Mafatle 72 646 814 mafatle@gmail.com

ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCTS HERE AND REACH YOUR CUSTOMERS

KILLION

T: +267 755 05 291 E: killion@boidus.co.bw TSHIAMO

T: +267 751 41 236 E: tshiamo@boidus.co.bw

Construction Industry / Architecture / Built Environment / Arts & Culture / Property Investment WHY BOIDUS? • the consumer of the built environment needs to be in a position to access information regarding what the architectural industry is up to • a platform for discussion and discourse needs to be created where open, earnest discussions on important issues take place

Boidus Pty. Ltd. P.O. Box 50097, Gaborone

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BOIDUS FOCUS Wednesday 10 October, 2012