23 Jun 2019

Kgalagadi District coordinator in Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Betty Gaotinngwe has encouraged artists to hone their skills so that they could become great stars.

Speaking during the Poetry and Choral regional competitions in Lehututu over the weekend, she said the country was faced with high unemployment rate.

As  result, he challenged the artsist to persevere in all circumstances in order to make a living out of their talents and even create more job opportunities for others to escape the pangs of poverty.

Since the start of the President’s Day competitions in 2008, she said they expect to see quality performances.

She therefore encouraged artists to take the competitions serious as they serve as a doorway to growing the performing arts industry in the country and not as a ‘quick’ way to making cash.

She also urged artists to observe the competitions guidelines ato avoid disqualifications.

On other issues Gaotinngwe indicated that Kgalagadi District coupled with Ghanzi District was a vast region and resource challenged.

She therefore, called for support from all stakeholders in the region to assist where possible to make the dreams of their communities come true.

She extended her appreciations to Ministry of Basic Education for its support by availing their facilities for use during the competitions and was hopeful that the relationship would go far and beyond.

She said the competitions had a positive impact on students as they get exposed to performing arts, unearthing their hidden talents and later in future tap onto such talent to earn a living.

For their part, adjudicator for poetry, Mogorosi Kehupetse encouraged poets to pay attention to the use of figurative speech in order to appeal to the senses of the audiences and to also manage their time to deliver their messages accordingly.

Choral adjudicator, Christopher Kokeletso urged participants to revisit the adjudicators form to prepare accordingly for the upcoming nationals.

Meanwhile, under the contemporary poetry, Loago Seonewang scooped position one with 84 per cent, followed by Nametso Kgaileng with 74 per cent while Katlego Selatolo scooped position three with 58 per cent.

Under the Setswana poetry, Moemedi Ramakwadi got first position with 82 per cent, followed by Ogorogile Kelebile with 72 per cent and Botshelo scored 70 per cent at position three.

In the choral competition category, Kuke Choir from Ghanzi region and Camel Choir from Tsabong took to the stage under the standard and lerabi songs.

For the standard song, Kuke Choir garnered 65 points while Camel bagged 60 points while in lerabi category, Camel Choir bagged 70 points while Kuke Choir got 68 points. The overall winner was Kuke Choir with 133 against Camel 130 points. ENDS