Government is concerned by the erosion of traditional values.
Speaking at the recent commemoration of the National Cultural Day in Goodhope, Minister of Youth, Sports and culture, Shaw Kgathi, said it is time for Batswana to take responsibility to uphold their good traditional practices that will influence the mindset and attitude of Batswana and instil the sense of botho in their culture.
Kgathi said that although the diversity of communities and nations should be recognised, it is equally important that they collaborate and understand each other’s culture to be able to live in harmony. ┬á“Batswana should do away with western culture and remember their roots, it’s time we take responsibility in the safeguarding, transmission and preservation of our cultural heritage,” he said.
With government concerned about the way culture is being lost, along with social ills perpetrated by youth and some of our elders, the ministry is in the process of handing the task to Dikgosi to take over organising the celebration of the National Culture Day.
┬á”It is our belief as government that Dikgosi, as custodians ┬áof our culture, are best placed to organise the cultural day and give back to the society what has been into their hands before the developments made a lot of changes, to a point where some of us really forget their roots.” He said the commemoration is meant to create awareness of the importance that culture contributes to our socio-economic development and should have the recognition it presents on our national identity, unity and pride. He added that Batswana have a mixture of linguistic and ethnic groups, which needs to identify their cultural roots and take the responsibility of safeguarding the transmission and preservation of their culture for future generations. He added that the commemoration also creates an enabling environment for different ethnic groups to celebrate their culture and interact with one another to learn their cultural practices and traditions.
Kgathi pointed out that the interaction is critical for national cohesion and the celebration of culture as Batswana was held as part of the implementation of the national Policy on Culture that seeks to rekindle the spirit of unity and pride among Batswana.
Barolong paramount Chief, Kgosi Lotlamorng II, commended government for the new development to hand over the Culture Day to dikgosi. He also acknowledged some tribes that have seen it important enough to bring back traditional initiation schools to preserve their culture.
