04 Apr 2022

Nyangabgwe Cultural Village Founder Ngwisiwa Ntogwa popularly known as Tjilenje Jje Ngwao says getting the cultural village to the desired state has been wearisome due to challenges such as lack of lease agreement among others.

Speaking during the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development (MYSC) Tumiso Rakgare’s visit on on March 31, Ntogwa said they were thrown from pillar to post by the Francistown City Council to acquire lease which was a requirement for the application of services such as water and electricity.

He said connection of such services would enable them to start hosting some events. Ntogwa said the area was identified in April 2015 and a proposal for usage was advanced to the city council which also took forever to be approved.

In 2020 council referred the matter to Ntshe Ward Development Committee for consideration and were issued with a five year renewal contract to use the place as a cultural village.

“The cultural Village’s aim was to open a restaurant that would serve traditional food, cocktails using indigenous knowledge acquired from the elderly and an ablution block,” he said To develop the area, he said, they used more than P300 000 that was accrued from performing arts and a further P150 000 donated by a business partner. On staff complement, he noted that at some point he was able to employ eight staff members comprising of security guards, cleaners and workforce who have currently stopped working due to financial constraints.

However he promised to never give up on what he views as a great potential to improve lives and grow the city of Francistown.

Appreciating the area, Minister Rakgare urged the youth in performing arts to be more self-reliant in producing valuable content. Rakgare said the site situated right at the foot of Nyangabgwe Hill and currently under construction will showcase cultural activities as well as promote local talent at the same time attracting tourists to the city.

The village houses traditional huts and other traditional structures already finished giving a significant sense of culture preservation. Rakgare said it was impressive that the start-up on the site was done with no financial assistance from the government.

He encouraged them to shift from aiming for luxury but improve their crafts to ensure that the place was basic yet carrying valuable cultural heritage.

 In making it easier for the project to be successful, he advised that they partnered with the private sector who in many instances provided funding and expertise.

“Private sectors have money put aside for corporate social responsibility purposes, as well as investments and they are willing to help if approached with a concrete plan for liability,” he added. Rakgare observed that interactions with different departments was fundamental in finishing the cultural village and explained that the opening of the site was not only beneficial to the residents of the Francistown but the entire economy of the country.

For his part, Kgosi Pepukai Makambe of Monarch said the area did not belong to residents of Monarch alone but open to Batswana and tourists at large.

Kgosi Makambe said on completion, the village wards likely to transform the lives of all artists while creating employment for young people and appealed to ministry to support initiative.

He advised them to turn Francistown into a cultural hub as the area was situated in a strategic place in the outskirts of a hill, scenic, with caves, a spiritual place and a place for relaxing. ENDs