08 Sep 2024

Mbungu-Wa-Kathimana Cultural Society Festival will receive P250 000 financial support from First Lady Neo Masisi.

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi announced this when officiating the annual Mbungu wa Kathimana Cultural Festival at Mohembo Ferry River Bank on Saturday.

President Masisi and the First Lady became part of the society last year at Tjoroga, Shakawe where the President was invited to officiate and Ms Masisi volunteered to serve as a cultural ambassador of dikonga (society).

“I promised that Mma Atsile and I would come here this year to immerse ourselves in the spectacular occasion that is the hallmark of the Mbungu-Wa-Kathimana Cultural Society Festival. Her financial assistance is an illustration of the bond that we share with you and as for mine, I will engage the society leadership since the Setswana idiom says Ngwana ga tsholelwe mo bathong,” said President Masisi.

He appreciated what the society was doing to preserve the diverse rich culture of the Hambukushu.

More importantly, he said the society must do everything to secure trademarks and other forms of intellectual property rights over their creations, using relevant policies and instruments, such as Botswana Intellectual Property Policy because culture was their treasure and a resource to bring economic benefits.

A delegation from Ipelego Trust from Moshupa who are the organisers of Hika La Ngwanyana Cultural Festival, graced the event for cultural exchange.

A delegation of Mbungu-Wa-Kathimana Cultural Society also had an opportunity to attend the Hika la Ngwanyana festival in Moshupa for the same reasons.

“The things that you brought were an important novelty in that premiere cultural festival, that is arguably the most widely attended to date and I am grateful that our cultural festivals would be enriched by borrowing a leaf from one another’s practices, to enhance income generation and promote multi-cultural awareness and cultural diversity as resources for balanced development,” said President Masisi.

Cultural festivals, he said, were a snapshot of people’s lives and achievements as well as a portrayal of their audacity to dream about their future, individually and collectively.

He applauded the Mbungu Cultural Society for consistently and tirelessly doing everything in their power to promote multiculturalism in Botswana.

 The Hambukushu people in the Okavango Delta are known for their reverence for and adherence to their culture and heritage of shared norms, practices, customs, values and communication styles and had a long history of celebrating all that with a great measure of fanfare, President Masisi said.

More importantly, he said, the Hambukushu were known for peaceful co-existence with other ethnic groups found in Okavango and North-West region, despite the diversity of their cultural practices.

Last year, President Masisi made no secret of his appreciation and encouragement of the mutually beneficial cross-border cultural relationship between the Mbumgu Society and a similar society of the Hambukushu of Namibia.

This time, the Hambukushu from Namibia, Angola and Zambia as well as Basubiya attended the event.

 President Masisi acknowledged their presence and assured them that the Hambukushu living in Botswana were a kind, respectable and wise people who contributed meaningfully to the country's socio-economic development.

The festival was held under the theme: Transforming Thimbukushu Culture to Attract Future Generation. ENDS