05 Dec 2018

Vice President Mr Slumber Tsogwane has urged Arts and Culture practitioners to utilise their talents to earn a living and to diversify the economy.

Making his contribution to the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), Mr Tsogwane stated that on annual basis, the government allocated about P10 million for the procurement of arts and culture products and services from both visual and performing artists by different ministries.

He also stated that President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi alluded to the fact that NOW! TV had been launched to encourage Batswana to produce more local content for the growth of the film and television industry

Mr Tsogwane also highlighted that in appreciating the potential of sports and culture to create jobs, there was the Botswana Sport Commission strategy 2028, which espouses excellence, professionalism and economic diversification through sport, that would be achieved by intensifying sport development through robust programmes in the different sporting codes.

He further said the President’s Day and Constituency Arts competitions also serve as talent identification programmes.

Regarding the Leader of the Opposition who had requested that there be an improvement concerning incentives for teachers who were involved in sports as coaches, talent scouts and managers, Mr Tsogwane said Botswana National Sport Commission works closely with teachers through the Botswana Primary School Sport Association, Botswana Integrated Sport Association and Botswana Tertiary Sport Association.

He said issues of incentives for teachers were discussed and agreed upon between the teachers and the various associations.

Meanwhile, Mr Tsogwane said Boteti West constituents were hopeful that the ongoing consultations on lifting of hunting ban would resolve the human/wildlife conflict in their area.

He said the conflict had reversed gains in agriculture and rural development, which play a crucial role in fighting poverty.

He further said the constituency was expecting that the Ministry of Land Management Water and Sanitation Services would prioritise land servicing in the area.

“The sacrifice that we have made over the years should be appreciated by our fellow citizens in other parts of the country; they too must sacrifice some of their projects to get less developed areas to benefit from mid-term review of our development plan,” he stated.

He also said the closure of the Francistown BMC had impacted negatively on the local communities, especially in Boteti West as they were dependent on the beef industry.

He pointed out that the recently dispatched teams to reassess the impact of drought had confirmed it to be severe.Ends