20 Mar 2017

Government has begun to place emphasis on creative industries as a sector that has potential to create employment, eradicate poverty, diversify the economy and compete with other well established industries.

This was said by Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Biggie Butale in his remarks at the ceremony to announce 24 beneficiaries of the third open call of the Levy on Technical Devices Fund on March 17.

Beneficiaries were each awarded grants which collectively amounted to over P20 million to implement projects from diverse activities including film and television production, book writing and publishing, drama and theatre development, capacity building in music, workshops and documentation, crafts and culture conservation, mobile application and events promotion as well as satellite television station and broadcasting.

In 2008, government as one of its many initiatives to promote creative industries sector, established the Levy on Technical Devices Fund to provide financial support to creative industries.

The fund is meant to develop and grow creative industries into contributors for sustainable socio-economic and cultural growth as well as diversity of the country.

Since its inception, Mr Butale said the fund had accumulated around P52 million, out of which the Copyright Society of Botswana was established, projects funded, and other initiatives supported to a total of about P25 million to date.

“It is my hope that in the long run we will see the return on investment of utilising this fund,” he said.

Additionally, as a continued effort in recognition of the potential value of creative industries, he said, the Economic Diversifications Drive (EDD), Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) and the Ministry of Youth Empowerment,

Sport and Culture Development would collaborate to develop a national creative industries strategy.

The strategy, he said was hoped to inform policy, legislative and operational decisions for the development of the creative industries.

“I do believe that it will help various government initiatives to be focused and create sustainable impact, and this includes utilisation of the fund,” he said.  

Botswana, Mr Butale said had potential to tap from its people’s creativity ‘as through creativity, the country can realise its dream of becoming a vibrant and globally competitive country.

“Therefore, as this fund grows, and its administration matures, we should expect to see funded projects that form part of Botswana’s journey to competitiveness through creativity,” he added.

He expressed gratitude that with each open call, the number of submitted proposals increased and the quality and diversity also improved.

“I am also pleased to note that the projects being announced today, are geographically spread across the country and a significant number of them have promising impact,” he added.

Furthermore, he commended the fund’s committee for a job well done and challenged it to ensure that the mix of funded projects included the elderly, people living with disabilities, rural communities and many others who did not always easily access government programmes.

He also challenged beneficiaries to prove their worth by delivering on their promise and contributing their results to the nation to grow the sector.

In his welcome remarks, CIPA registrar general, Mr Conductor Masena, said it was the third time the Authority was issuing funds to support projects initiated by Batswana.

Every open call for CIPA, Mr Masena said, meant gaining more knowledge about Botswana’s creative industry and its potential to contribute to the economy.

To ensure sustainable impact of the fund, he said there was personnel dedicated to monitor progress of the project and also to ensure that it did not only achieve its intended purpose, but also benefited Batswana countrywide.

He said improvement in the administration of the fund, its uptake, project implementation and the overall project impact in the long run was key.

Since 2010, he said 42 projects from diverse industries, inclusive of the 24 granted on March, had been funded through the fund with the total approved grants amounting to more than P41 million.

Efficient administration of the fund, Mr Masena said was one of the key initiative in CIPA’s 2015/2020 long term strategy.

The achievement that the Authority had recorded, thus far, he said had demonstrated that indeed there was potential for the fund to contribute to the country’s economic diversification. ENDS