Kgosi Maruje calls for community radio stations

EDWARD BULE
Correspondent | Wednesday October 6, 2010 00:00

 

He said that community radio stations have the potential to set a platform for the community to partake in the development process, adding that modern technology has made it possible for different cultures to co-exist in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.

'Community radio stations will mobilise communities to set up their own agenda for it is another form of decentralisation which ultimately adds value to the local economy by bringing services and addressing the needs of that particular community,' said the youthful Kgosi.

Maruje said that culture is a human right, adding that peoples' basic rights entitle them to equality and justice. He stated further that, 'Botswana is a signatory to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights therefore our government is compelled to afford every major tribe the right to be heard.  It is important that news items from our local television network (Btv) should now be slotted according to the different languages we have in this country in order to give other cultural groups the opportunity to learn from their mother tongue,' he further stated, to a thunderous round of applause by the multitudes who attended the annual Bakalanga cultural event. The Kgosi demanded that the government and Bakalanga reflect on the issue of culture and languages and set a new agenda which recognises and acknowledges the rights and interests of the various cultures in Botswana.

Maruje 111 declared that, 'The times of cultural assimilation are now over because Botswana, as a country, is made up of many cultural diversities which should enjoy their freedoms, their identity and languages with pride and honour'.

The guest speaker congratulated Bakalanga for having religiously attended the Domboshaba Cultural Festival since its conception in 2000.

The Kgosi described the  festival as an important platform for the Bakalanga to express their heritage and showcase their culture adding that the preservation of culture and language is the ultimate aim.  He expressed satisfaction that the event has brought about intercultural dialogue, '...for we see more Batswana joining us to celebrate our heritage as Bakalanga and we owe this particular achievement to the trust for having seen it fit to market and sell this project to the outside world'.

Representing the department of arts and culture, Tachenama Nyondo, encouraged Bakalanga to preserve their language by writing books in it. She regretted the fact that some Bakalanga hide their identity because they suffer from an inferiority complex.

She also encouraged Bakalanga to speak their language in public and not worry about those who complain. For her part, Bigani Setume of the Botswana Tourism Organisation said that she is pleased that even with so much modernisation, '... we still are able to gather and celebrate the cultures that have shaped us.' Setume commended the formation of the Domboshaba Cultural Trust for overseeing the interests of cultural preservation.

She assured Bakalanga, who are planning to build a cultural village, that her organisation would 'continue to assist wherever and whenever possible'.

Ironically, although this was a cultural event for Bakalanga, out of the three formal speeches, two were in English, while the third was in Setswana albeit with Ikalanga translations for all the three.