04 Mar 2019

Deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Kgopotso Ramoroka has encouraged Polka groups to commercialise their genre and package it for sale beyond Botswana borders.

Speaking during the annual Kgalagadi Polka Festival, which was held in Tsabong on Saturday, Ramoroka said Polka music and dance had become a valuable piece of tourism attraction, which could be sold even internationally.

“It is possible for artists to package this product and earn a living through their performances,” he said.

Over the years, Ramoroka said, Polka had proven to be a great form of entertainment in the Kgalagadi community, which had also instilled a sense of patriotism, unity and pride.

To this end, he said the Polka music festival had grown in leaps and bounds since its inclusion in the President’s Day Competitions in 2011 as the number of groups, which participated in the President’s Day regional competitions increased from four in 2011 to 39 in 2017 and then 46 in 2018.

“The initial competitions in 2011 comprised of groups from Kgalagadi South only and it has since spread nationwide,” he observed.

Ramoroka noted that the dance had branded the district as the home of Polka culture where other districts benchmarked adding that it was good for the development of the arts industry.

He urged groups to form cooperatives and eventually graduate from fun performances to business entities.

For his part, Kgalagadi District Council chairperson, Meleko Thumpe appreciated Bakgalagadi for standing united and coming in large numbers to celebrate their culture.

 He encouraged Polka groups to take their trade seriously and patent their artistic works to ensure that its origins were known.

He also called on Pinagare Ya Sekaka Cultural Association to work hard and learn from how Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development had been running the event to prepare themslves to take over.

In an interview, Pinagare Ya Sekaka Cultural Association chairperson, Shadrack Vanniekerk appreciated the support they got from the ministry, which he said would go a long way in strengthening ties, skills transfer and developing the creative arts in their district.

Thus he said, they were currently riding under the wings of the ministry, which was imparting knowledge in preparing the association to run the Kgalagadi Polka festival when the right time comes. As compared to last year, he said the event had grown immensely as it included other cultural presentations in the Kgalagadi region such as camel rides, exhibitions of poverty eradication beneficiaries’ products as well as showcasing of contemporary music genres.

On the day, eight Polka groups, which had won President’s Day Competitions in 2018 took it to the stage to enthrall their supporters who had filled Tsabong Showgrounds to capacity.

 The annual event was held under the theme ‘Polka music and dance, our way of life event’. ENDS