Botswana: Xere, a village 14km from Rakops in Boteti District, yesterday hosted a celebration of the Basarwa culture, the inaugural Xere Cultural Festival. The Acting President of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane, officially launched the celebrations.
In his opening remarks, the Acting President said that the Xere Cultural Festival will be an annual event which will not only celebrate the rich Sesarwa culture but will also be a resource that the people of Sesarwa origin can exploit and derive economic benefits.
The Acting President noted that the cultural festival comes at an opportune time when the Government of Botswana had just launched the mindset change concept. He said the festival captures the said change as it is set to diversify wildlife tourism and showcase culture.
Other dignitaries attended the event, including the Acting Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mabuse Pule stated that the Government has reserved P6 million for the development of the Xere Cultural Centre. He added that the UNDP also supported the initiative with P500 000.
Moreover, Mabuse Pule said Xere Conservation Trust members will go on a benchmarking exercise in Capetown, South Africa, to learn more about tourism and how to run major events such as this one.
For his part, Kgosi Molaodi Moipolai appreciated the contribution that the event brought to his village. He showed gratitude that Basarwa is now appreciated and do not need to hide as it was a norm in the olden days.
The event was graced by among others the Acting Minister of Youth Gender Sports and Culture, Deputy Permanent Secretaries, government officials and Batswana across the country.
The Xere Cultural Festival kick-started with activities such as the bushwalk and Animal Trekking this morning. Other activities of the day include the Traditional Basarwa settlement life Expo, and the Traditional Song and Dance ensemble is yet to come. The Urban Festival will wrap up the day.