The curator of Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe, Scobie Lekhutile, has fired salvo at government for what he terms gross neglect of regional museums.

Speaking from the dilapidated buildings of the museum during an interview with Showbiz, the outspoken Lekhutile says "We have our hands tied behind us because we do not have enough resources to make this museum operate the way we want it to.

At the moment, we are stifled and we cannot work as professionals and it looks like we have not evolved from the times of oral traditions."

While the curator agrees that a lot has improved since the interviews this paper did with some curators all over the country last year, he says he strongly feels that a lot needs to be done.

Last year, the Khama III Memorial Museum staff complained of late payments and in unfriendly working environment, but this year they say things have changed remarkably and their relationship with the National Museum has improved.

"Nowadays we get our payments on time, but we cannot say we are happy because we are still unable to do a lot of things that we wish we could do," he says adding that the museum does not even have transport and they have to use their private cars to do errands for the museum.

"In the past when this museum was sponsored by the Danish, there used to be project vehicles and our bills were paid on time, but ever since they left, nobody is willing to take care of our recurring budget and this has greatly crippled us," Lekhutile says.

The museum used to have a combi that was donated by a Japanese non-governmental organisation, which is currently needs maintenance. Lekhutile says the vehicle came in handy while it was working but ever since it broke down, they have not been able to get it repaired and this has greatly affected some of the museum's operations.

He says as if that is not enough, the museum has not received transport allowance in a long time and this means that his staff has to sacrifice its limited resources to help with the day to day running of the museum.

During a short tour of the museum, Showbiz noted that the museum needs serious renovations and the curator attributes this to years of neglect.

"We have approached the Chinese Embassy to help us with renovating these buildings and they have agreed to help and at the moment, they are waiting for quotations so that they start doing the job," he says.

According to Lekhutile, the Chinese Embassy has been very helpful in the past because they have sponsored a number of undertakings done by the museum.

Despite all the challenges the museum is currently facing, the curator says that he has big dreams that he hopes to achieve with the right support.

"They are a number of ancient buildings in Serowe, which we hope to secure for future generations because they are rich in both the history and culture of this area," he says adding that sadly, some of these buildings have either been bought by private buyers or are demolished.

Some of the buildings that the museum hopes to secure include the Mission Station and some houses historically tied to the founding president of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, the second Serowe post office, the first prison and courthouse in the village and the old treasury building.

"These are just dreams because at the moment we are more concerned about what directly affects us and we cannot be able to take any other ventures," he asserts.

The curator says that he is currently working round the clock to try and establish a youth centre at the museum, which he hopes will 'revive some of the traditional and cultural values among the youth'.

"The centre will also serve to bridge the generation gap by promoting interaction between the youth and village elders," he says, adding that he hopes that some of the activities will start before the end of the year.

Khama III Memorial Museum contains the priceless Khama Papers and Bessie Head Paper, which have been in the past used by both local and international researchers. It also houses ethnographical materials of the Bangwato and other neighbouring merafe.