01 Feb 2024

Nhabe Museum leadership has commended the Ngamiland community for electing some eligible residents to beef up the museum Board of Trustees so that it brings the community-based museum to life and preserve the rich historic collection.

The community was praised during a meeting held at the Batawana main kgotla after they learnt that the board had been ineffective since it was elected in 2018, as there was no valid constitution to guide its day-to-day operations.

The current board chairperson, Mr Tshematshe Monwela informed the gathering that since they were elected into office, they had been inactive as they realised that the existing constitution did not include the interests and aspirations of the community and they were advised to correct that.

In addition, he said some members of the board dropped along the way because of some circumstances and only four were left, thus made it difficult to make some decisions and carry out some activities.

Recently, he said they took up the matter with Kgosi Tawana Moremi II, who immediately convened a meeting with other local authorities and reached a consensus that the community should elect six more members to beef up the board so that it could be fully functional.

“I would like to thank the district leadership and community for responding positively to our plea and I am hopeful that since the board is now intact, we will drive our mandate, strive to bring change and eventually take the museum to greater heights,” he added.

Mr Monwela noted that priority would be to consultat with the entire Ngamiland community in an effort to pave way for redevelopment of the constitution and register as a trust with the High Court.

He appreciated that the museum played a pivotal role in promotion and preservation of local arts and culture and natural heritage, adding that they intend to build relationships and encourage the community to work with the board to achieve its mandate.

Ngamiland region, he said, prided its self in different ethnic groups as well as rich and diverse cultures, but it was unfortunate that those tribes lacked information and knowledge about the museum.

The museum manager, Mr Tumelo Thuthuka indicated that the issue of poor governance rendered the museum useless as some people perceived it to be a private entity.

 In addition, he said the initial constitution also left out the local community’s interests, hence there was no coordination between the museum and the Ngamiland community.

The board, he said, would now embark on public education around the region to sensitise the communities about the importance of the museum and what is expected from them.

“We want to change the narrative that the museum belonged to a certain group of people and ensure equal representation of all tribes in the region.

We want tribes to contribute material content because our mandate is to preserve and promote diverse regional heritage and history and understand that the museum can help improve their livelihoods as they can be engaged in activities of cultural importance,” he added.

Mr Thuthuka further noted that the board was expected to redevelop the constitution and strive to align itself to the Community Based Natural Resource Management programme and enjoy support from other stakeholders.

The board, he said, would also ensure compliance to the existing laws and policies that guided trusts.

Nhabe Museum was established a long time ago out of the need to preserve and conserve the local cultures.  ENDS