03 Sep 2020

The general performance of Botswana sport on and off the field has continued to improve during NDP 11.

Presenting the ministry's mid-term review of the NDP11 to Parliament on September 1, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Mr Tumiso Rakgare said athletes and administrators continued to excel in international competitions.

"The highlight was the 2018 Commonwealth Games that were held in Gold Coast, Australia. For the first time in history Botswana managed to win more than one gold medal at the games, winning three gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze medal. The team was represented by Isaac Makwala, Baboloki Thebe, Onkabetse Nkobolo, Leaname Maotoanong, Amantle Montsho, Galefele Moroko, Christine Botlogetswe and Loungo Matlhaku,” he said.

He said Botswana was also the first country to win gold in both the men’s and women’s 400m title in the history of the Commonwealth Games.

 It was also the first time in Botswana’s history that the team attained position one and two at an event bigger than African Championships, he said.

Minister Rakgare said Botswana had two women in the finals of an international competition be it Commonwealth Games, World Championships or Olympic Games.

Mr Rakgare said in the area of youth development and empowerment, the ministry continued to place interns and Tirelo Sechaba participants in various organisations to improve their job readiness.

He said a total of 2 851 youth projects were supported through the Youth Development Fund (YDF) at a total cost of P285 million adding that the businesses had created 5 068 job opportunities for young people.

Minister Rakgare said the creative industries, as outlined in Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan comprised of activities that had their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent which had a potential for job creation, cultural diversity and economic development through the exploitation of intellectual property.

"A television channel called NOW! Channel was established and it airs on DSTV, Channel 290. The Channel is available on free to air decoders and also streams online. We are in partnership with BOFINET to enable it to be watched for free at various hotspots in Gaborone, Mahalapye, Palapye, Serowe, Mosojane, Matsilije, Masunga, Tutume, Francistown, Kasane, Kachikau, Ghanzi and Maun,” he said.

He added that the channel acquired local content and this empowered Botswana film and TV producers, saying a total of P65 million had been spent on content acquisition since inception. He added that more than 70 local companies had benefitted as well as the creation of close to 1 800 jobs since the inception of the channel.

In an effort to preserve Batswana’s diverse culture and heritage for posterity, Mr Rakgare said the ministry had inscribed two elements under the Urgent Safeguarding List of the UNESCO 2003 Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

He said these were Dikopelo Folk Music of Bakgatla Ba Kgafela and Seperu Folk Dance and Associated traditions and practices of the Chobe District."This brings the total number of elements protected in this way to three. Furthermore, Botswana ratified the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in April 2020. Its main objective is to create an enabling environment for arts and culture practitioners to create, produce, distribute their goods and services for socio-economic benefit, “he said. ends