Out of 960 funding requests received, the National Arts Council of Botswana (NACB) has awarded grants to only 58 projects, totaling P4 million. Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport, and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, disclosed this information in response to queries from Gaborone Central MP Tumisang Healy during a parliamentary session on Monday. As of now, P3.1 million has been disbursed to support 49 projects through the Arts and Culture Grant for the 2023/24 financial year.
The NACB is tasked with advancing the creative economy by nurturing, promoting, and preserving the nation’s creative sectors. The council initiated a call for applications from July to September 2023. Rakgare noted that since the commencement of fund disbursement, 43 of the supported projects have been successfully implemented, significantly benefiting the industry both economically and creatively across the country.
Rakgare stated that the NACB’s arts and culture grant amounted to P4 million, while artists submitted funding requests totaling P187.5 million for the 950 projects. This stark contrast led to deserving projects facing insufficient funding. To illustrate the magnitude of the issue, Rakgare highlighted that Botswana has 57 constituencies, resulting in an average allocation of P70,000.00 per constituency through the Arts and Culture Grant. He emphasised that for the funding to achieve the desired creative and socio-economic impact and to ensure equitable representation, NACB would ideally require at least P1 million per parliamentary constituency.
Finance Minister Peggy Serame sees a ray of hope in the proposed budget increase of 19.4 percent for the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sports, and Culture. She anticipates that this allocation will address the needs of various oversight bodies within the Ministry.
Although Rakgare did not fulfill Healy’s request to disclose the highest amount disbursed through the grant, he did emphasise that priority was given to projects with significant community benefits over individual endeavors. Examples include the Mbungu Festival of the Hambukushu tribe and the Domboshaba Festival of the Kalanga tribe, both focusing on cultural preservation and celebration..
