BOMU wants to replenish coffer with Gaborone concert

The organisers said the event was envisioned as an annual occasion that would extend to eight districts in the southern African country.

The concert will feature 35 local artists and the organisers hope that it will revive the Botswana music industry’s heyday in the 1990s when local artists would fill up stadiums without the help of international headliners.

BOMU president Pagson Ntsie said the union had used up large sums of money to finance artist funerals, which left the body almost bankrupt.

“We need 2 million pula to be placed at a better position to fully execute our mandate,” he said. “Most of the artists who have passed away were buried with BOMU coffers. This has drained BOMU’s accounts and we must raise funds to safeguard against similar situations.”

Ntsie said the union had footed the funeral bills of radio DJ Vincent ‘Steez’ Tiro and Charma Gal’s five dancers, who died in car accidents. The organisation had also contributed funds for the memorials of Johnny Kobedi, Donald Botshelo, Andries Bok and kwaito artist Cisco B.

Ntsie said the 2 June event was also aimed at giving priority to local artists over foreign musicians in order to promote the local industry.

“We want to protect our market like other countries do with their own. We must limit the number of foreign acts entering the country just like we do with vegetables at the border,” he said.

Ntsie also challenged local artists to safeguard the Botswana industry and produce top-quality content that could be consumed internationally.

“Why are we not infiltrating their market? Why should we give jobs to foreign acts? We want Batswana to believe in their artists like South Africans do. Look how they do their end-of-year festivals. No foreign act is invited there and they do their own thing.”

Ntsie credited local artists such as Vee, ATI, Slizer and Skavenja for coming up with the Carnival Music Festival idea. “The purpose of this carnival is to bring all artists under one roof,” he said.

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