A Spaghetti Road Like No Other: Kenneth Nkhwa Interchange
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday February 3, 2020 16:30
Lo and behold-the government was not aware that she was killing more than one bird with a single stone.
The Spaghetti is now used for different purposes. At the height of the campaigns for the past general elections, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party held its political rally under the Spaghetti when it launched the Member of Parliament for Francistown East, Billy Buti and his councillors.
Recently, fitness fanatics have started to use the Spaghetti as a place for keeping fit.
The fitness fanatics are a regular feature to motorists and pedestrians who pass by the Spaghetti in the evening.
As if that was not enough, all roads recently led to the Spaghetti during the maiden successful Francistown Arts Meet.
One of the founders of the event Keoagile Bonang expressed delight at having held the arts festival under the shade of the Spaghetti.
“We chose the Spaghetti as a venue for our event because many people use it when they travel to different places inside and outside the city. We wanted as many people to see what was happening in order for them to appreciate that the arts are also an avenue that one can use to earn a living. I thank the leadership of the Francistown City Council (FCC) for giving us permission to use the Spaghetti as venue to hold our event because it gave us maximum exposure,” said an ecstatic Bonang.
Bonang added that the drawing of murals at the Spaghetti would also go a long way in improving the aesthetic of the area.
However, while there is no debate that the Spaghetti is a convenient venue for hosting various outdoor functions, some people are of the view that it is not optimally utilised.
During a full council meeting at the FCC last year, councillor for Itekeng ward (Area W), Lesego Kwambala, who is also an avid arts lover, suggested that people of Francistown can derive maximum value from the Spaghetti if artists of different genres like painting are allowed to draw murals at the road in order to spruce up its image.
Kwambala suggested that if local artists are given permission to draw murals at the Spaghetti, it has the potential to attract tourists to the city.
“The Spaghetti road is near one of the largest hotel establishments in Francistown, Thapama Hotel. Some tourists like to view murals depicting different cultures of Botswana. Since the hotel is a stone throw from the Spaghetti, tourists can easily walk from the hotel to the road to see and appreciate our culture,” Kwambala said then.
An American photographer and journalist, Patrick Verel supports Bonang and Kwambala’s assertion that murals have positive benefits although he is aware that some sections of society associate murals with gangsterism.
In his book, Graffiti Murals, which shows the good effects of graffiti art to the public, Verel says graffiti contributes to the renovation and increase of the aesthetic appeal of neighbourhoods.
Verel also stated that murals could be used as a tool to fight various social ills.
Verel stated that murals create awareness about vandalism and turn something negative into positive adding that through the collaboration of artists and community members, children can have role models to look up to and have the support they might not always get.