10 Jun 2019

Resurfacing of Dikhwaere groups only during President’s Day competitions in the western region is said to be a concern.

The sentiments were expressed by  Acting Ghanzi district coordinator in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Rock Mphela during the 2019 President’s Day Dikhwaere elimination competitions for western region in Ghanzi on June 8.

Mr Mphela said the tendency for Dikhwaere groups to dismantle immediately after the competitions and regroup again during the next competitions, is a waste of his ministry’s efforts.

He explained that the ministry’s mandate was to unearth, nurture and give exposure to artists through the competitions. He said it was governmnet’s hope that subsequently the groups or artists would find avenues to exploit their talent and fend for themselves and their families. 

He said they wanted to see the nurtured talent fully utilised, rather than it going to waste. “Our interest is to see Dikhwaere being visible even when there are no President’s Day competitions, ” he said.

Mr Mphela added, “even when we want to invite Dikhwaere groups to our events, it is difficult to find a single group”.

He challenged Dikhwaere in his region to emulate those in the Kgatleng region, saying they recognised the genre and they (Dikhwaere) have been listed at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), under the 2003 intangible cultural heritage convention, for preservation.

One of the adjudicators, Mr John Marumo was happy about the turnout of Dikhwaere groups .

However; he observed that most of the groups lacked creativity in their song compositions and stage performance.  

He also said the song themes promoted other genres, which he said suggested that the Dikhwaere genre was inferior and thus not marketable.

Mahusane group of Kang proved their mettle as they emerged victorious, thus securing a spot in the finals, where they could possibly pocket a monetary prize ranging between P20 000 and P30 000.

The runners up; Ghanzi International went home with P8000, while Kagiso choir from Tsabong, took third position, pocketing P5000. Fourteen Dikhwaere groups participated in the competitions. ENDs