17 Sep 2023

Xere Cultural Festival can usher in socio-economic development in Xere and Boteti region.

Speaking at the festival in Xere on Saturday, Acting President Slumber Tsogwane, said the event was intended to promote Sesarwa culture, which was one of the richest not only in Botswana, but Southern Africa as a whole.

Another objective, he said, was to turn the rich culture into a resource that Basarwa could exploit for economic benefits.

“As we embrace technological growth and development into the fourth industrial revolution, we wouldn’t want to lose our very beautiful and diverse cultures. We live to realise the aspirations of our forefathers,” he said.

Government, Tsogwane said, recently launched a mindset change initiative, therefore the cultural festival was one of the things that could drive change.

“We have been selling viewership of our impressive wildlife resource, but now, re chenchile and we are selling our very rich culture,” he said.

He stated that mindset change would go long way in promoting the principle of self-reliance among rural communities.

Tsogwane, also Boteti West MP, said the cultural festival came at an opportune time when Botswana had made a deliberate move to use some indigenous languages as a medium of instruction in schools.

Children, he added, would be taught in their mother tongue in few years to come, something that he said demonstrated government’s commitment to promote culture.

Government intended to engage its partners to position Xere as a gateway to Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans National Park as well as to pristine Okavango Delta and Chobe.

Tsogwane said there was a plan to construct a state-of-the-art cultural centre in Xere next year.

He indicated that the aim was to integrate and mainstream cultural tourism thus making Botswana a destination of choice by 2030 and beyond as espoused in the Revised Tourism Policy of 2021.

He called for functional public private partnerships in Xere and Boteti region.

“We want people to breed and own horses and donkeys that are used for rides during the event and for further preservation of culture. We want to see more accommodation in megwaafatshe huts,” he added.

The acting Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mabuse Pule, said cultural festivals could help diversify the economy.

Basarwa’s rich culture, he said, could attract tourists to Xere, adding that government had set aside P6 million to set up a cultural centre in Xere. ENDS