The stage is set for a battle for Botswana's entertainment soul as members of the Botswana Entertainment Promoters Association (BEPA) head to the polls tomorrow to elect new leadership.
Voting will take place in Gaborone at Staybridge Golfview Suites with results expected to be announced before end of day.
At the heart of the contest is the race for the presidency, where four contenders vie for the coveted top seat. Born and Raised founder Goaba Mojakgomo, representing the campaign themed 'Team Corporatising the Creative Space'. Mojakgomo, known for turning the annual Serowe-based festival into one of the most anticipated events on Botswana’s entertainment calendar, is banking on his corporate strategy and experience to bring structure and order to what he terms “an under-leveraged goldmine”.
He is up against three other aspirants, seasoned industry players Bofelo Kgaodi, Kesego Kebelaele Okie of Blue Skies, and Bonolo Ratlhapi, each of whom brings years of event promotion and grassroots mobilisation to the table.
For the position of vice president, it is a face-off between Happy Khumalo and Rapula Kegopilwe.
Meanwhile, the post of secretary-general has attracted three contenders, Bambi Motshomatshuku, Bonno Ngaka, and Godwin Sebina, all promising to elevate the association’s voice in both public and private sector corridors.
For the treasurer-general seat, the contest will be between Sadie Swartz and Lucky Totego.
The elections come at a time when Botswana’s entertainment industry is increasingly being recognised as a key economic contributor, with the potential to absorb scores of unemployed youths. President Duma Boko, who has been noting this recognition at kgotla meetings, repeatedly underscores the importance of investing in the creative space. He has openly called for professionalisation of the sector and vowed to create enabling policies.
More recently, the Minister of Sport and Arts, Jacob Kelebeng, confirmed the coming of the sports and creative industries' strategy. The minister labelled this as a "long-awaited blueprint" to guide the sector’s development. The strategy will outline key structural challenges including the absence of a robust regulatory framework, a weak monitoring and evaluation system, and underdeveloped infrastructure that falls short of international standards.
The minister also bemoaned the sector’s historically low public funding allocations and limited private sector participation. As part of efforts to address this, he proposed a total budget of P627,458,090 of which P524,515,270 is earmarked for recurrent spending and P102,942,820 for development projects.
The outcome of the BEPA elections is expected to set the tone for how the industry engages with government, partners with private entities, and evolves in the years ahead.
