13 Oct 2015

The deputy permanent secretary (DPS) in the Office of the President, Mogomotsi Kaboeamodimo, has applauded Bangwaketse for the annual Mmakgodumo cultural festival initiative.

Speaking during the three-day festival in Kanye,  Kaboeamodimo said the initiative would revive Bangwaketse culture.

He expressed delight that Bangwaketse had picked a befitting venue, Mmakgodumo, which he described as one of the greatest establishments of Sengwaketse heritage. He said the place also represented the illustrious legacy of Kgosi Bathoen II who ruled Bangwaketse from 1928 to 1969.

Kaboeamodimo said Kgosi Bathoen II gave form and function to important life style features and public works for the Bangwaketse tribe.

He said the Tomela office chambers, Seepapitso Secondary School, the Seventh Day Adventist Medical Mission, Marapalalo and King George halls, Lobatse Teacher Training College, which was the first of its kind in pre-Independence Botswana and the Mmakgodumo irrigation dam were the flagships of Kgosi Bathoen’s rule.

Kaboeamodimo revealed that Mma Kgodumo irrigation project was constructed in the 1940s by Kgosi Bathoen II using mephato (regiments), guided by his vision for self- reliance and a viable agro-economy. He explained that the dam was a source of water for livestock and a horticulture project for Bangwaketse.

He further revealed that after the failed League of Nations health institution initiative which was intended to promote nutrition across African nations, the Mmakgodumo project came in handy for Bangwaketse.

“It is to this place that we can trace back the genesis of the school feeding programme in Botswana and the first generation of back- yard gardening,” he said.

Kaboeamodimo highlighted that Kgosi Bathoen further engaged the services of a professional dietician and agronomist to pioneer the planting of fruit trees such as peaches, pomegranate and vegetables to look after the nutritional needs of Bangwaketse.

DPS further shared that the project gave birth to the subject of Home Economics from grassroots right up to University level and what in the early days of the school system in Botswana was referred to as Hygiene Education. He said the subject was taught at selected schools like Manyana school garden.

Kaboeamodimo furthermore told the audience that Ga-Ngwaketse was home to a number of attractive historical sites like the Old colonial prison and colonial government offices, Kgosi Bathoen statue and his memorial museum among others.

He said Mmakgodumo was one of the oldest conservation areas that the visionary Kgosi Bathoen had declared a bird sanctuary in the 1940s and urged Bangwaketse to develop it to its full potential for posterity.

In his remarks earlier Kgosi Malope II of Bangwaketse had also called residents to ensure the venue was fully developed.

He said permanent accommodation units should be built to enable the place to generate income and sustain itself.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the organising committee Tsietsi Kebualemang has urged the business community to support cultural activities. He said the event had little support from the business sector.

For his part, the Kanye North Member of Parliament, Patrick Ralotsia, urged Bangwaketse to take advantage of the cultural sites in the district to create employment for themselves.

He said culture had the potential to create employment opportunities for residents. Ralotsia informed the culture enthusiasts that government would expedite processes to debush fields and drill boreholes for cluster farmers in order to create an enabling environment for them to feed the nation. Ends