29 Mar 2023

Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture (MYSC) continuously funds festivals, musicals, conferences and other activities which provide platforms for young musicians to ply their trade.

Answering a parliamentary question on Monday, Minister Tumiso Rakgare said the ministry continued to provide international exposure and experience by sending young musicians to activities hosted by Botswana Missions.

This, he said was done through the Arts and Culture grant administered by his ministry, which provided funds for youth in different activities that promoted economic activities in the arts.

He said the grant would now be moving to the recently established National Arts Council of Botswana (NACB) in the 2023/24 financial year.

“I am confident this work will continue to be done with greater efficiency and speed coupled with new innovative ways to assist these young musicians,” he said.

Minister Rakgare explained that there were plans in place to continue to support the Creative Industries sector or fund upcoming youth to reach their full potential.

Young musicians, he said were always free to apply for various activities of their choice, adding that it covers recordings as well.

Minister Rakgare said they had through the Arts and Culture grant funded individual members of the Botswana Entertainment and Promoters Association (BEPA) and Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) and the associations to undertake festivals, capacity building workshops, residencies and awards in order to build capacity and recognise the talent and skills of local artists.

He indicated that about 1 006 in Gaborone and over 300 musicians in Francistown had been supported through various programmes including the Arts and Culture grant, Khawa Dune Challenge and cultural festival, the National Arts Festival, the Independence day celebrations, community cultural festivals, COVID-19 Relief funds, Cross Country recording extravaganza and other programmes.

Mr Rakgare further said the grant at MYSC had in the last five years supported projects such as Toropo ya Muka music festival, As One music concert, Kwambala music festival, Jazz Mu Toropo (Francistown), Gaborone International Music and Culture week, the Makgabaneng International festival, the music conference, BOMU music awards, National jazz festival, Fashion Without Borders (Gaborone), Maitisong, Domboshaba and Dithubaruba festivals and others.

He said many of which combined the visual and performing arts – theatre, modelling, fashion, design and other dimensions of the creative sector but comprised mainly music activities.

MYSC, he said at present did not have any specific plans to buy young people instruments. However, he said it was a subject of discussion within the ministry and it was seen within the context of the National Arts Council taking the lead in the coming years to collaborate with partners, stakeholders, organisations and institutions in the creative sector to provide such.

He said this would not be in terms of buying individuals instruments, but rather creating working spaces where such instruments would be availed and youth coming to use them at central locations, which would facilitate higher numbers.

Mr Rakgare said the creation of such work spaces was already in the plans of NACB for 2023/24 financial year.

In 2020, he said, MYSC together with the ministry of Trade and Industry developed the National Creative Industries Strategy, which among others covered the music industry.

He highlighted that the National Arts Council of Botswana was currently studying the industry strategy, with the view to improve it to better cater for the needs of the creative sector, music included.

Once they completed the work, he said, they would then start implementing the strategy in full, resources permitting.

Mr Rakgare further said his ministry had also worked with the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) in 2020 and the rest of the sector to come up with Botswana’s Human Resource Development Plan for the creative sector.

The plan, he said identified and presented a study of all the critical skills needed to grow the sector to the next level. 

The plan, he said, provided a clear picture of all needs on both the supply and demand sides of the creative sector in Botswana.

He pointed out that it also provided clear proposals on what roles different stakeholders needed to be playing to achieve dynamism and agility in the sector.

Minister Rakgare further said his ministry would be playing its part, to see to it that all the gaps identified were closed.

Member of Parliament for Gaborone Bonnington South, Mr Christian Greeff had asked Minister Rakgare to apprise Parliament on the number of youth groups in Gaborone that were supported by his ministry to register their work or record their songs in different studios.

He also wanted the minister to state if there were any plans for the ministry to help or fund youth in the music industry especially the upcoming youngsters.

MP Greeff also wanted to know the number of youth musicians who were assisted by the ministry for the past five years in Gaborone and Francistown.

In addition, he asked if MYSC had any consideration to assist the youth in the music industry to buy instruments and elaborate on the assistance if there was any.

He further asked about the ministry’s ten year strategy of developing the music industry in the country. ENDS