Africa-Press – Botswana. In a crucial embrace of inclusion and collaboration in the sector, the National Arts Council of Botswana is now officially in partnership with the country’s arts associations to implement the National Arts Festival with it, thanks to the intervention of the Minister of Sport and the Arts.
After weeks of growing discontent among Botswana’s arts associations, the Ministry of Sports and Arts has stepped in to bridge the rift.
A recent statement from the National Arts Council of Botswana (NACB) confirmed that effective immediately, they have entered into a collaborative partnership with the country’s arts associations in the ongoing rollout of the National Arts Festival 2025.
This development follows the intervention of Minister Jacob Kelebeng.
Series of articulated grievances
While NACB has yet to disclose the names of all participating associations, it has noted that the associations will now play a central role in mapping, clustering, planning and plotting the competitions, as well as managing logistics, vetting adjudicators, and overseeing reporting, monitoring and evaluation.
This comes after a series of articulated grievances by art associations, accusing the council of sidelining them in earlier phases of the festival’s planning.
In a previous interview, NACB spokesperson Kutlwano Monnamoncho acknowledged that a meeting was held on 24 June to explore cooperative approaches. He spoke of the matter as being still “on the NACB table” at the time.
“We have the expertise”
The vice president of Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU), Letsweletse Moshabi, has expressed optimism about the development. “We are happy to be given the platform to plan the festival because we have the expertise,” he said in an interview.
Even so, Moshabi was quick to say the associations remain wary of NACB’s structure and legitimacy. “The council compliance suite is not stopping,” he noted. “We have engaged with Minister Kelebeng and he will be calling us again to engage.”
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