14 Oct 2018

Artists have been urged to abide by the constituency competition rules and regulations.

These sentiments were expressed by the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development programme officer, Matlhomola Kebifetswe at a workshop in Bobonong on Wednesday.

Kebifetswe said although constituency competitions differed according to categories, it was important for participants to respect all the rules and regulations to avoid penalties.

He said only out of school youths were allowed to register for the competitions across all categories, hence it was wrong for groups to use primary, secondary or tertiary learners in their performances.

Kebifetswe said the drama category, traditional songs and dance as well as dikhwaere were open for youth aged 16 to 35, whereas the category for segaba, katara and setinkane targeted people aged 60 and above.

He noted that consumption of alcohol and drugs  as well as acts of nuisance were not permissible during competitions, adding that such acts could lead to individuals and groups being disqualified from the competition.

Kebifetswe highlighted that it was important for participants to bring copies of  identity cards to the competitions.

He further stressed that registration for constituency competitions was not satisfactory as there were incidents of late and few participants.

He said late and few participants, more especially in remote areas, was one factor that cost government on adjudication as people travel long distances to adjudicate too few participants at constituency ward level.

Kebifetswe urged artists to take performing arts seriously, as it was a government initiative intended to reduce unemployment and abject poverty among Batswana. ENDS