25 Aug 2020

Newly elected Botswana Music Union (BOMU) president, Phemelo ‘Fresh’ Lesokwane, has promised to run an inclusive organisation that will serve members’ interests.

Fresh, a cousin to renowned rhumba muso, Franco Lesokwane, said his intention was to enable the union to advocate for artistes’ welfare.

That, he said, meant there was need for him to work closely with stakeholders to draw a roadmap that would help him to strategise and subsequently achieve his goals and success of the union.

“I am engaged with other stakeholders on strategies that we can follow so as to bring in a better transformation and they will be made public once a final agreement is reached,” he said.

Among issues to consider, according to Fresh, was to workshop upcoming as well as veteran artistes to help them make a mark in the industry.

“The idea is to equip new artistes and those who are still struggling on how to conduct music as a business for maximum growth of the industry and as an ideal self-empowerment means,” he said.

Again, he said they would liaise with seasoned musicians from developed countries to inspire local artists.

“We should not see these well-seasoned artistes from outside coming here for gigs only. The idea is to benchmark from them in effort to hone our standards,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fresh indicated that the music industry was also not spared from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and that called for more creativity in order for artistes to survive.

“We are aware of the adversity of COVID-19 pandemic on artistes, therefore we intend to come up with short term interventions to cushion them,” he said. ENDS