Botswana Entertainment Promoters Association recently held a press conference where they expressed their disappointments about the government’s handling of the entertainment industry in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
The promoters, who said they had yet to benefit from the government’s COVID-19 Relief Fund for the months of April, May and June 2020 condemned the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture’s ‘ignorance’ of the creative industry.
BEPA president Gilbert PP Seagile said they had unsuccessfully engaged the ministry officials to remedy the situation. Former BEPA president Zenzele Hirschfeld called on the government to re-open the entertainment industry.
The promoters said they had proposed virtual festivals to be sponsored by the ministry and other stakeholders but there had not been a response from the officials on the matter. They said they would now appeal to President Mokgweetsi Masisi for intervention since the Ministry of Culture had failed them.
