- Hlatikhulu Town Board official implicate in a land sale saga and CEO is shocked.
Hlatikhulu: A scandal has emerged within the Hlatikhulu Town Board, involving claims that one of its officials facilitated the sale and transfer of a plot for just E600.
Hlatikulu is situated above the Grand Valley Estate in the valley of the Mkhondvo River, south of the MR9 trunk road.
Speculation is rife that this is already a done deal with all necessary documentation already completed.
Sources say this deal was facilitated to acquire a 30×30 square metre plot, the size of an office parking lot, with a structure already taking shape.
The parcel of land falls under the town board but lies in close proximity with the Magele Chiefdom boundaries. However, this piece of land is a title deed land as opposed to Eswatini Nation Land.
Independent News has been made to understand that the town board officer – whose identity is concealed for now – got directly involved in the questionable transaction.
That parcel has now become the subject of an investigation into what has been described as an irregular or possibly illegal transaction with a woman (identity also concealed).
According to reports, the church member approached the officer for assistance in securing land for a relative. Sources say the officer helped out a church member and a family friend. It was said that the woman is a sister to the friend with whom they attend the same church as the officer.
The officer allegedly fulfilled this request by facilitating the transfer to the relative.
“This thing began when a church member approached the officer in search of assistance,” one source said.
The church member is said to have explained that a relative was looking for land and requested the officer’s help in securing it. The officer then allegedly kept his promise and facilitated the transfer to the relative of the church member.
Additional reports indicate that more plots within the same area have already been fenced. However, it remains unclear whether those plots were obtained through similar irregular processes or were legally allocated. At present, no direct evidence has been presented to confirm that the fencing of additional plots is linked to the officer’s alleged transaction.
The Hlatikhulu Town Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bongani Dlamini expressed shock when he was called to establish his knowledge of the allegations.
He confirmed that the implicated officer works in his office; however, he said he had not heard about this issue before, promising to conduct his own investigations.
Dlamini wondered if such a sale would be legal, given the process of selling and buying a title deed to land, as stipulated by the Deeds Registry Act, 1968.
One of the stages of a normal title deed land transfer is the verification of ownership and the land status. This ensures the title deed clearly indicates the ownership status and that there are no legal issues, liens, or third-party claims. It also confirms the land’s zoning to understand its possible uses and verify that essential infrastructure like water and electricity is available. The Land Control Board and or Deeds Register secures content and approvals to transfer ownership before a surveyor gets involved. Completing the transfer requires signing the Deed of Transfer, which legally documents the change in ownership; the buyer submits the Deed of Transfer to the local sub-registrar’s office for registration and the payment of stamp duty.
Dlamini noted that any sale must be documented and that outstanding rates and transfer duty fees would need to be cleared as part of the essential process.
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