08 Dec 2015

Member of Parliament for the Kanye North, Patrick Ralotsia, has commended Botswana Defence Force (BDF) bands for the spirit of benevolence.

Ralotsia said this in Kanye over the weekend during the 25th annual presentation of the BDF Bands Concert, where they donated P15 000 to Lesedi Counselling Centre, a non-governmental organisation that supported people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.

He said the gesture was congruent with the Vision 2016 ideal of a compassionate, just and caring nation.

 He said the donation would not only enhance the image of BDF as the protector of the nation, but also as a socially responsible entity that supports the cause of charity across the country.

Ralotsia, also Minister of Agriculture, wished the BDF prosperity so they could touch many other lives across the country.

For his part, the commanding officer for the BDF band wing, Lt Col Phillip Modise said the concert was aimed at taking military music to Batswana.

He said they had been performing for the last 25 years and rolling out cheques to different charity organisation  as a way of ploughing back to the community.

Col Modise highlighted that they also offered children music lessons with a view to support government initiative of introducing music as a subject in the school curriculum.

“This is a skill they can use to earn a living in future and it also benefits us as BDF because it also creates a recruitment base for us. How nice will it be to have recruits with polished music skills joining us?” he said.

On other issues, Col Modise explained that the band had come of age. He said they were able to perform music that was idiomatic to the genre, which sets them apart from other bands.

The band wing commander said in the past they used to transcribe and perform music, which was originally played by others, but now they are able to perform original compositions, which he described as an achievement. The band recently won the service delivery award, which he said inspires them.

 Lt Col Modise further explained that they also want to re-establish themselves in the music industry and disclosed that the band would soon release an album.

Meanwhile, a food vendor, Ms Monica Sekgabo was happy for the opportunity she was afforded to do business on the side line of the show for free. Ends