Over P400m for museums

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism will set aside over P400m for the construction and refurbishment of museums across the country as part of its Public Investment Programme (PIP) for the second Transitional National Development Plan.

On Monday, Minister Philda Kereng proposed to Parliament an amount P1.72 Billion Public Investment Programme (PIP) for the second Transitional National Development Plan.

Kereng said the money will cover five programmes under her ministry namely Broadening the Tourism Base, Infrastructure Development, Computerisation, Wildlife Species Management and Environment Protection.

She explained that Broadening the Tourism Base Programme is meant to expand Botswana’s tourism base through development of tourism facilities such as tourism

parks,

and monuments.

“My Ministry proposes 11 projects with an estimated cost of P428.60 million. These include nine ongoing and two new projects,” she said.

The project covers the completion of the construction of Ntsweng Museum, Refurbishment of the National Museum and Art Gallery, Cultural Villages at Phuduhudu, Xere, Eretsha and Driehoek as well as Khuis Tourism Park Development. The programme also entails the refurbishment of Regional Museums at Mochudi, Serowe, Kanye, Nhabe, Gantsi and Francistown as well as District Monuments at Tsodilo, Tropic of Capricorn, Baratani, Matsieng and Dimawe.

“We will also refurbish the Old Palapye Site Museum, construct the Natural History Museum and refurbish the Botanical Garden,” she said. The refurbishment of the National Museum project, which was anticipated to cost P33 million, commenced in 2020 and was expected to be complete by mid-2021.

However, the project has experienced delays and is yet to complete. The refurbished permanent exhibition will incorporate existing dioramas, exhibits and the abundant national heritage collections that the department is in custody of. The second phase, which includes gallery modification, exhibition installation

and additional structures, is a development that will give a facelift to the National Museum façade, with an additional gallery floor and new visitor facilities including a refurbished reception, library and galleries, a modern restaurant and a redesigned indigenous garden. Government has committed to utilise the potential of the arts sector for economic diversification.

Across the world, museums are leading educational partners, offering permanent collections, special exhibitions, regular tours, introductions to the galleries, concerts, films, workshops such as life drawing sessions, curatorial talks and lectures from industry expert focusing on art, architecture, archeology, music and culture, art history courses, social and drop-in events.

Commenting on this, the Director of Thapong Visual Arts Centre, Reginald Bakwena said there is serious shortage of spaces to exhibit and promote artists in the country. He said their hope is that the new museums as well as refurbished ones will incorporate galleries to create conducive environment for artists especially those looking for spaces to exhibit.

“We are experiencing shortage of spaces to exhibit and promote artists. It will create opportunities for local artists within those areas and give exposure to their artworks.

We are hoping that the idea will encourage more Batswana to develop interest in careers such as curators, guides and museums assistants; it also adds to job

creation,” said Bakwena.