26 Jun 2014

Residents of Tsodilo in the Okavango Sub-district are optimistic that the declaration of Tsodilo Hills as a national monument and a world heritage site will bring more developments and transform the image of their village.

The residents said they expected more benefits and opportunities as there were a lot of activities going on at the site. They aired their views during a series of interviews. Some said they had high hopes that their village would be changed for the better.

They appreciated that the listing of Tsodilo Hills site had become the focus of tourism and economic development as well as improved livelihoods for the people. Residents indicated challenges they faced such as high rate of unemployment, lack of developments and increased number of the needy people.

The acting chief representative, Mr Kelebetse Keasheta said since the listing of the site, the community had high expectations that their challenges would be addressed for good.

He appreciated efforts made by the department of national museum, monuments and art gallary, noting that the site had improved the livelihoods of local people through provision of water for people as two boreholes had been drilled and connected standpipes in the village.

Another benefit, he said, was the establishment of a craft centre for the craft makers to sell their products. He said they still expected more benefits because their village was now recognised.

The Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson, Mr Ngundura Sakunyima said their village was lacking behind in development implementation noting that the only infrastructure found in the village were kgotla shelter, VDC houses, Tsodilo Trust camp site, the museum and a newly constructed mobile stop clinic.

He revealed that their efforts to implement developments in the village were hindered by people who failed to pay rent on time. He said they were owed over P2c000, adding that most of the defaulters were public servants.

Mr Sakunyima said they had a line-up of projects in their plan which they intended to carry out and these included a two classroom school, clinic and block of offices where they could access services closer.

He also noted that life in the village was a struggle as most young people had enrolled in Ipelegeng programme because they could not access youth programmes geared towards empowering them due to the distance they travel. He said they accessed services as far as Shakawe, Sepopa and Nxamasera.

A member of VDC, Mr Kenamile Mokate expressed happiness that the formation of the village trust would make a difference as it had shown a lot of positive progress in terms of income generation. He said the trust had shown an interest in contributing towards the construction of the school and in assisting VDC to increase their houses.

“We are hopeful that our new trust will bring more developments to the village. We also expect to benefit more from the heritage site which attracts more tourists who buy our products,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tsodilo Hills World Heritage Cultural Landscape is located in the northwest corner of Botswana and it was declared National Monument in 1927 and a World Heritage Site in December 2001.

The significance of the site is its cultural site of outstanding universal value. The hills are an impressive natural quartsite structures that rise majestically from ancient sand dunes to the east and a dry fossil lake to the west, resulting in them being called inselbergs.

With one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the World, Tsodilo has been called the ‘’Louvre of the Desert’’. Over 4 500 paintings are preserved in an area of only 10 square kilometers of the Kalahari Desert.

The archaeological record of the area gives a chronological account of human activities and environmental changes over at least 100 000 years.

Local communities in this hostile environment respect Tsodilo as a place of worship frequented by ancestral spirit. ENDS