10 Oct 2016

Setso Games Association (SEGA) in partnership with Setso Publishing and Kgosi Sechele I Museum has embarked on a drive to clean Lekadiba Heritage site in Molepolole.

The drive is held under the notion #Keep Lekadiba Clean and the Saturday activities included picking litter at the site.

SEGA chairperson, Kenneth Middleton said the mandate of the clean-up campaign was to sensitise the community on keeping the site tidy given its cultural heritage status and its richness in history.

He expressed concern about the state of the site saying it looked untidy compared to when he used to visit it when he was young.

“The litter at the site and in the stream plus the graffiti on the rocks will hamper the potential of the site being a tourist attraction. The place has a potential for outdoor getaways and it might become a park in the future hence the need to preserve it,” he said.

Middleton said the clean-up campaign at Lekadiba was their first or more like a pilot project adding that the intention was to do another one in a few months time.

“On the next campaign we will engage more community members and leaders for all to become sensitised,” he said.

For his part, director of Kgosi Sechele I Museum,  Power Kawina, commended SEGA for their gesture, saying it was a good initiative more so that it was voluntarily undertaken.

Kawina acknowledged SEGA in cleaning the heritage site, saying it has a potential to boost tourism and on its disorderly state, it cannot lure tourists.He suggested that there would have to be implemented a management plan for the site to have custodians based there full time.

He raised a concern that community members just park their vehicles anywhere at the site, thereby destroying the archeological sensitive site, hence management plan will help curb such occurrences.

Moreover, Kawina said the custodians at the site will guard what takes place at the site, ensuring there was no littering by the public hence creating employment for the community members in turn.

It was explained Setso Games Association is mandated on promoting and preserving culture through traditional games hence saw it fit also to clean-up Lekadiba as a cultural site. SEGA was formed in November 2015, having their first event in February at SOS children`s village in Tlokweng where they played traditional games with the children. ENDS