. Since the interchange was commissioned five years ago, several members of the public and arts associations have proposed that its aesthetic look be improved through mural paintings and creative landscaping. “We want the interchange to be an attractive place. The council has partnered with the Botswana Oil to improve the aesthetic look of the interchange. The company will finance the landscaping and mural painting to make the place look colourful,” Radisigo. He added: “The council has proposed that learners from various schools in the city be engaged to do the mural works. There will be a competition in which learners will be invited to express their interest to do the mural paintings. This will be one way encouraging learners to take art seriously. Art can be fairly rewarding when taken seriously.”
Botswana Oil recently issued an expression of interest in the local media inviting learners from schools in the city to submit proposals to do mural paintings at the interchange. Radisigo also lamented that Francistown has not done enough to capitalise on its historic and heritage sites. “In countries like South Africa and Namibia, heritage sites are well preserved. We need to do more to acknowledge Francistown’s rich history, especially in terms of preserving areas that were home to liberation struggle stalwarts like Blue Town and promoting them to tourists. This is one area that I think the next council leadership should prioritise. This will also help boost the economy and help create employment,” he said. He gave an example of the ‘White house’ in Blue Town as one of the entities that can be turned into a historic site. The house was home to liberation struggle icons such as former Namibian presidents, Sam Nujoma and Hage Geingob. That was before they ascended to the presidency. Following the death of Geingob last year, government promised to turn the ‘White House’ into a historic site, but the development is yet to materialise. Radisigo further said he recently had an interaction with officials from the Supa Ngwao Museum in relation to preserving the city’s heritage sites. “It appears like there are in-house issues that they are still dealing with. I am hopeful that once they are done, they will start pursuing initiatives meant to preserve and promote our heritage sites as tourist destinations of choice,” he said.
