Rampholo Molefhe
27 August 2007
column
There is the ideological bent to the interpretation of the dividends that may accrue to Botswana on account of any kind of cultural activity, including the filming of a Hollywood type movie.
The intellectual work needed to make that assessment projection or estimate is not lesser than that which is required to measure the performance of diamonds on the international markets, say, against the continuing growth of the Indian and Chinese markets.
That might sound alarming because African countries have, for the better part of the post independence era, placed the study of economics - in its very western sense - ahead of the development of arts and culture.
In that regard it becomes easier for the African economists to debate and discuss concepts of socialism, capitalism, globalisation, the international monopoly capital, and other such lecture room buzzwords in the western universities and boardrooms.
Questions of how the recording of state media jingles, and how that relates to the continuation of the suppression and underdevelopment of Botswana's genius, appear somewhat obscure and perhaps even irrelevant.
The connection between the recording of state radio and television signature songs by South Africans and other peoples, and the process of underdevelopment, is far less easily understood.
To how many Batswana does it matter that one of Radio Botswana's signature tunes for the news is a Botswana creation that sounds like a reed orchestra whilst the other is a song from the Cannonball Adderly record titled 'Africa'?
Does that mean anything to the Minister of Home Affairs responsible for 'Culture'? Does it mean anything to the minister of tourism, or the minister of communications? Zero, most likely.
Does it mean anything to the arts and culture establishment of post independence Botswana that Reggie Kopi and Phillip Modise collaborated for years to score and produce a version of 'Fatshe Leno La Rona', which possibly meets universal standards of contemporary world music?
Why should it take donkey years to acknowledge the work of the Batswana when it takes a special effort by Batswana authorities to give the Koreans accolades for singing Botswana folk songs and sculpting historical figures like Sechele, the Khamas and Gasitsiwe?
Why do the managers of the state media go to South Africa to record signature songs for RB II when we have both the instruments and manpower to do the same at the Botswana Defence Force, the police, prisons and in the streets and nightclubs of Gaborone, Francistown, Gantsi and Maun.
So, the performance of Mpule Kwelagobe, Mavis Kario, the Zebras Under- 23 side, John Selolwane, Machesa, Culture Spear and Matsieng appear as some kind of cultural abberation or a mistake of nature? Why?
And so the authorities suddenly wake up from their deep slumber when the Americans and the South Africans knock on the door demanding P30 million in the equivalent of tax rebates there, and millions more for the filming of a detective story on the streets of Gaborone, Tlokweng and the Okavango!
What if it were a consortium of home bred Batswana who approached the government for the same type of investment? They would have gone away with nothing.
This is not by accident. It is quite easily explicable in terms of the logic of Franz Fanon's Wretched of the Earth or his Black Skins, White Masks, perhaps even Walter Rodney's How Europe Underdeveloped Africa or Kwame Nkrumah's 'Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism. George Lucas dealt with similar questions when grappling with revolution and consciousness on the eve of World War 11.
There will be no direct quotations save for a passing allusion to some of the observations made in various ways in these products of intellectual labour.
Several years of exposure of the African to a self-degrading perception of the world has left him unable to distinguish between his own best interest, and that of the instigators of his suffering.
The result is a culturally embedded sense of intellectual inertia, a distorted perception of the world, and a debilitating subservience to foreigners.
It would not matter if the government spent P50 million or more to purchase the opportunity to be part of a foreign movie. The nation is told that the benefits shall be the raising of the Gaborone's and the Okavango's profiles as tourist destinations. There will be skills-sharing between the foreign 'experts' and the local 'novices' at filmmaking.
The local hotels, taxis, nightclubs, sweepers and some 'extras' will benefit, even if it shall be at miserly wages in comparison with South African or American standards. Perhaps, but were these benefits the result of deliberate and calculated pre-filming dialogue between the tourism ministry, filmmakers, journalists, the musicians union and these carriers of the ultimate wisdom and knowledge from the West and the south? Hard to believe!
How much tendering was done so that all Batswana artists had a fair chance?
Is P30 million the real investment amount, and how much should Batswana expect in terms of dividends at the end of the day?
But far more importantly in the context of this particular contribution: Will Batswana see themselves in this enterprise in a way that is true to their collective lifestyle and culture?
And then when the Americans and South Africans have left, what will be left?
When then, will Botswana settle down to a long-term assessment of the entertainment industry, establish a proper cultural council, pay copyright, and establish a national arts theatre?
In the meantime, Batswana can only trust that there should be a healthy return on the P30m+ investment and the promised artistic integrity in the final product.
There should be the much-needed psychological and ideological liberation of the Botswana authorities who should have long overcome fear and worship of the whites and the West.
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