09 Feb 2025

 National heritage and cultural monuments are preserved in communities within which they exist by the Department of National Museum and Monuments (DNMM) through community trusts.

This was highlighted by the Principal Curator-Regional Coordinator in the Southern Region, Mr Louis Moroka, in an interview. He said the Southern Region extended from Kgatleng District to as far as Struizendam and had nine offices.

He explained that the DNMM, under the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, was existing to aid communities on economic sustenance through utilisation of natural and historical heritage within their communities by creation of employment opportunities, leisure, and partnerships to preserve the resources.

“These resources range from ruins, such as old sites, hills, and pans, which hold historical, cultural and natural heritage,” he said.

He added that within the Kanye District, some of the cultural and tourism wonders included Kgwakgwe Hill and Mmakgodumo Dam.

The dam’s history goes back to Kgosi Bathoen II’s efforts to resolve water shortage for the Bangwaketse capital. Mr Moroka stated that Kgosi Bathoen II is said to have built it through engagement of age regiments. It then served as a water source for Bangwaketse to do gardening, water their livestock and for household use.

Some other sites found in the district are Motlhware wa ga Makaba, Pharing gorge, some ruins at Moshana village, which comprises of burial sites called Makolontwane, the Bangwaketse Main Kgotla, which is a home to Kgosi Bathoeng II’s old houses, Bangwaketse royal cemetery, and the Bathoeng II Museum.

The Mmakgodumo area as one of the historical heritage places is a home to the famous Kanye Cultural Festival dubbed after the area name ‘Mmakgodumo Festival’. The festival is a lucrative economic venture that hosts a chain of local businesses both corporate and small enterprises. Companies such as Kanye’s very own Colorful Sounds and many more being partakers among the festival’s series of businesses activities.

According to the Bathoen Trust secretary, Mr Mpho Mogobe, the annual show was halted in 2019 due to the COVID-19.

"It was resuscitated in the past year to run its seventh edition on the October 12, 2024 and raises revenue for the Bathoen Trust,” shared Mogobe.

He further said in bringing it back, it was freely rolled out to the public with the intention to usher them to the market place again, Nonetheless, he said this year businesses will pay for attendance. He said the festival in return brought some economic benefits to the Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in the locality through acquisition of festival stalls for both corporate and small enterprises.

Moreover, Mogobe said the trust was intending to do with the festival show.

“We would like through it to draw investors to Kanye as well, especially within the Bathoen area so that prospective investors can get the natural feel that the area has and be lured to invest therein. This is to solely turn the area into a tourism attraction place where there could probably be a game farm in the bird sanctuary and or property in the Ramatea Ranch,” he added, and said developments would highly add economic value to the community heritage resources.

However, he said the festival activities were downsized as some were noted to have potential to be tourism events by themselves. He highlighted some of them such as horse and dog racing as having the potential to derail the festival concept. Bathoen II Museum, just like Mmakgodumo area, is one of the cultural and historic heritage wonders in the Kanye District under the care of the Bathoen Trust as well. ENDS