Debating the government's idea of reviving culture through the recently introduced Constituency Arts and President's Day Arts competitions, councillors in the country's second city dismissed the development as a joke.Jefferson Siamisang, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, said he is convinced that the constituency art and President's Day arts competitions have added fresh impetus to government's efforts towards reviving culture.
Siamisang said this when presenting the "mandate and programmes" of his ministry to the Francistown full council session recently."These (constituency and President's Day competitions) promote cultural revival and unpolluted recreation," he said. Echoing the country's founding president Sir Seretse Khama, Siamisang said "a nation without a past is a lost nation".He said the competitions are held in a spirit of togetherness, joy, happiness and self-reliance, as culture demands. Siamisang remains confident that the competitions will help breathe new life into the disappearing culture of Batswana.
