29 Jul 2013

Batswana have been encouraged to document events that happened in their localities to contribute to the knowledge and information society.

These sentiments were echoed by an academic consultant, Veronica Makwinja-Morara during a book launch in Tati Siding last week. The book titled, A Researched Documentary on Tatisiding, was written by Ogomoditse Maruapula, a businessman and director at Ebat Consultants.

Makwinja-Morara said Tati Siding would be without a soul if it did not have an account of its origins and commended the author for investing his time and resources in writing the book, especially as he was born in the greater Francistown area.

The first ever written account of the village, the book sets the foundation as reference material for future researchers on the village, explained Makwinja-Morara. She also said the book was rich in the sense that it touched on the founding families of the village and why they settled there.

These families, who came from different parts of the country, she noted, toiled to build a settlement in the early 1930s, which did not have much in terms of development. Makwinja-Morara observed that the book advocated for unity and interaction.

She also said that Batswana were natural orators, hence there was need for them to begin writing about their way of life and the transformation that has taken place around the country. “Many rural communities have lost their valuable history and were being assimilated into the Western culture. There is so much to write about in our land,” she stressed.

She also observed that Maruapula had set a precedent to everyone to follow and write the history of their own villages. For his part, the president of the Customary Court of Appeal, Kgosi Christopher Masunga said it was commendable that the author decided to write a book on Tati Siding

He noted that the documentation of the history of the village was crucial as Francistown was one of the early settlements around the country, hence the origins of its peripheries also needed to be highlighted.

Kgosi Masunga also said the time had come to have the history of all villages in the north east on a website, especially its development aspects which, he said, was not pleasing.

A community member, Smarts Kachipare gave a review of the book and noted that it was an interesting account of a developing village. “This book is a challenge to everyone, very few people give time and money for research, including some universities,” he highlighted.

Kachipare said the book took the reader through the many challenges faced by the early settlers including water, relocation and the fact that the train did not stop in their village but only slowed down for people to alight.

In addition, he explained that throughout the book, the writer displays his love for culture and the role that traditional leadership plays in the setting up of the village.

Also, he commended the writer for adopting a step by step account of the development process in Tatisiding and its transformation from a village to the current status where it has turned into a service centre which hosts many people who work in Francistown.

By using the population census of 2011, Kachipare said, the writer was challenging planners on what should be happening in terms of development in the village. “The writer is taking us through change and transformation in Tatisiding and it is emotional as he chronicles the subject for the reader,” he added.

Meanwhile, the regional manager of BOCODOL, Fanikiso Moswela speaking in his personal capacity decried the fact that a lot of oral history had been lost because of failure to record events.

He also said that it was evident that the contribution of academia to rural development was lagging behind. “Academicians should be carrying out research which is tied to rural development,” he observed.

Boyce Mangole from the Francistown district commissioner’s office thanked the author for tackling a subject that is as relevant today as it was in the past. He said that they were many fights around the country for Bogosi as families wrangle over who settled in their communities first because of lack of documented evidence.

Mangole noted that government encouraged individual citizens to contribute where the government was hamstrung by funding to contribute to knowledge.

For his part, the author, Maruapula said in an interview that he embarked on the book project because he believed he had a role to play in sharing knowledge and as a change agent.

He said the book was a clarion call for development practitioners to change their perspective and focus on rural areas so that they become habitable for all. Maruapula said that the book was not perfect and he hoped to improve on it but this was the first account of the history of the village.

He said writing history was not easy as he had to deal with a lot of controversies but verification and sticking to facts saw him through those challenges. In addition, he highlighted that he funded the book and did not get financial assistance from external sources. ENDS