15 Sep 2022

It is important to recognise and leverage the value of Botswana culture and the creative industriy.

Addressing a media conference on Wednesday, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Kitso Kemoen said cultural tourism had great the potential to create employment, while the creative industry also presented growing opportunities for the youth.

He said cultural exchanges were undertaken to improve relations between Botswana and other countries and also to promote cultural tourism.

Traditional dance troupes, he said, has performed in France, Australia, Zambia, Mozambique and Dubai, adding that such also served to expose local artistes to the international market, opening avenues for them to be engaged in financially rewarding events.

Kemoen said his ministry continued to lead the nation in preparing for national celebrations such as the National Arts Festival formerly President’s Day competitions and Independence Day celebrations.

He said a major milestone was the enactment of the National Arts Council of Botswana Act 2020, which established the council as a parastatal.

The primary purpose of the NACB, he said, was to facilitate and drive growth, promotion, investment and marketing of the arts as a sector.

Furthermore, he said the council would, therefore, be instrumental in driving the cultural and creative industries to realise their full potential.

“Ground is being prepared to rid the ministry of all arts and culture activities that border on implementation and devolve them to the NACB,” he said, adding that the existing relationship between the ministry and the BNSC should guide their relationship with the NACB.

He said going forward the ministry should deal with policy and strategy matters as implementation was delegated to the parastatals.

Meanwhile, Kemoen revealed that as one of the new developments in government, the internship function had been relocated to the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, while the Youth Development Fund had been relocated to the Ministry of Entrepreneurship. ENDS