28 Jan 2014

The Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Mr Shaw Kgathi says the Thapong Visual Arts Centre will get additional sponsorship of P622 000 from his ministry.

This would be in addition to the P1.5 million that was allocated to the centre. The amount was extracted from the alcohol levy. The funds were going towards turning the centre into a masterpiece in order to enable all Botswana artists to unleash their talents in a more conducive environment.

Speaking during a studio visit in Gaborone, Mr Kgathi said as the minister accountable for the arts and culture budget, he had to ensure that any government funds committed to a project were utilised accordingly and Batswana were able to benefit from such projects.

The minister said he was happy with the progress made so far as the project was 90 per cent complete and due for completion by the end of March 2014 and it was also within budget.

He stated that they were approached by Thapong Visual Arts Centre with this proposal and their interest in this project will not only add value to the sector but will also be sustainable in the long run.

“We therefore, will be looking for a return on the investments made. Not only do we expect improved access to facilities by artists, we demand that programming be done in such a way as to improve capacity of artists and build professionalism”, he says.

He further mentioned that he is impressed by the good corporate governance shown by Thapong and applauded Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTC) for donating air conditioners, First National Bank (FNB) and other companies for their contributions to the implementation of this project.

Ruud Jansen, Thapong Visual Arts Center Board Chairperson expressed gratitude for these donations and the good generosity and stated that the expected official launch is July this year. “Thapong will then look different and will be a world class center which will be ready to receive talented youth from across the country”, he said.

The architecture in charge of this project, Tshoganetso Rantshilo, of Architects Collaborative made an assurance that they will provide the best quality equipment’s and they are going to engage local artists in the decoration of Thapong with sculptures and paintings.

He said that everything is at completion stage and they are only left with the external works such as pavements and installation of a fire fighting system.

The Minister further said artists should use this center as a platform to showcase their talent, more especially that the 2014 African Youth Games are around the corner, so they should seize the opportunity to benefit from the games. ENDS