As the country prepares to celebrate six decades of independence, sovereignty, peace and national unity, the Diamond Jubilee must also force us to ask a more serious question: what kind of economy do we want to build for the next sixty years?
This is why the debate around the reported P23 million budget for Botswana’s 60th Independence celebrations deserves a sober and fair conversation. The concern from citizens is understandable. At a time when the country has faced medicine shortages and pressure within the public health system, any public spending outside essential services will naturally attract criticism. That concern must not be dismissed.
Health is not a luxury. Medicine is not ceremonial. No national celebration can be more important than the life, dignity and wellbeing of citizens who depend on public hospitals and clinics. Government must therefore continue to account for how it is addressing shortages of medicines, medical supplies and health-system weaknesses.
But the existence of a health crisis does not mean Botswana must stop investing in every other sector of the economy. A nation must be able to respond to urgent needs while also building productive sectors that create jobs, widen opportunity and strengthen long-term resilience.
The real question, therefore, is not whether Botswana should celebrate at a time of economic and health challenges. The real question is whether the Diamond Jubilee budget will be spent as a once-off ceremony, or whether it will be used as a deliberate stimulus for the creative economy.
If the P23 million is absorbed by protocol, tents, stages, administration and elite event management, then the criticism might be justified. But if it is deliberately channelled towards artists, musicians, filmmakers, fashion designers, writers, performers, visual artists, cultural groups, production crews, technicians, photographers, videographers, designers, district-based creatives and small creative enterprises, then it becomes more than celebration spending. It becomes economic participation.
For the first time, according to the Minister of Sport and Arts, Honourable Jacob Kelebeng, creatives are expected to occupy centre stage through festivals, exhibitions, performances and creative showcases across the country. That statement is important because it recognises something Botswana has been slow to accept: the creative sector is not merely entertainment. It is an economy.
Behind every performance is labour. Behind every exhibition is production. Behind every film screening is a value chain. Behind every fashion showcase is design, tailoring, branding, photography, modelling, logistics and retail potential. Behind every cultural performance is heritage, intellectual property, community knowledge and the possibility of cultural tourism.
For too long, Botswana has treated creatives as decoration at national events, not as contributors to national development. They are invited to give colour to ceremonies, emotion to campaigns and identity to public gatherings, but when serious economic planning begins, they are often left outside the room. Botswana’s 60th independence celebrations gives us an opportunity to change that.
The numbers already show why this sector deserves serious policy attention. Presenting his ministry’s 2025/26 budget, Minister Kelebeng said cultural and creative industries are powerful economic drivers, accounting for 3.1 percent of GDP and 6.2 percent of the workforce. BIDPA 2019 study reported that the creative industries’ contribution at 5.45 percent of Botswana’s GDP.
These figures should change how we speak about artists. A sector contributing to GDP and employing people cannot be reduced to entertainment. It is part of the economy.
The creative economy is also one of the most accessible entry points into enterprise for young people. It does not always begin with heavy machinery, large factories or major capital. It often begins with talent, an idea, a story, a camera, a sewing machine, a stage, a laptop, a cultural memory, a song, a script, a design or a performance. From those beginnings, real industries can grow.
A musician is not only a performer. They are part of a copyright industry involving composition, recording, publishing, distribution, branding, performance rights and licensing. A filmmaker is not only someone who shoots videos. They create demand for actors, editors, sound engineers, makeup artists, locations, transport, catering, set designers and digital platforms. A fashion designer connects textiles, modelling, photography, retail, tourism, branding and manufacturing.
This is why creative investment should not be reduced to entertainment spending. It is economic activation.
Botswana has spoken for many years about diversification, moving beyond dependence on diamonds, reducing youth unemployment, empowering citizens, promoting local content, supporting entrepreneurship and building a private-sector-led economy. Yet when an opportunity comes to put money into a sector largely driven by young people, citizen talent and local intellectual property, we suddenly treat it as wasteful. That contradiction must be challenged.
That is why the P23 million must be judged by its structure, not merely by its size.
The budget must be transparent. It must show how much goes directly to creatives and how much goes to administration. It must include district-based artists, not only familiar names from Gaborone. It must create space for emerging creatives, women, youth, persons with disabilities, rural cultural groups and small creative enterprises. It must pay people fairly and on time. It must avoid using artists for exposure while money flows elsewhere.
Botswana should use the Diamond Jubilee to build a national creative directory, document district talent, collect data on creative participation and measure how many jobs, contracts and business opportunities are created through the celebrations. We should know how many young people were engaged, how many small businesses supplied services, how much money reached local communities and what platforms were created for future opportunities.
Those who criticise the P23 million are not necessarily against the arts. Many are simply asking a painful but valid question: how can a country celebrate when citizens are struggling to access medicines? That question deserves respect. But the answer cannot be that every development sector must stand still until the health system is perfect.
No economy can recover by funding emergencies only. A nation must treat the wound, but it must also rebuild the body.
The P23 million must therefore not be defended as a party budget. It must be defended only if it becomes a creative economy stimulus. It must be defended if it places money in the hands of those who create, perform, design, produce, write, film, document, preserve and tell Botswana’s story.
A country does not choose between medicine and music. It chooses whether to govern with short-term reaction or long-term vision.
Botswana must fix the health crisis. Botswana must account for public spending. Botswana must protect citizens in hospitals and clinics. But Botswana must also build new engines of prosperity.
Our mindset as a nation should be ‘at 60 years of independence, Boipuso should not only be a ceremony of memory. It should be a platform for the next economy- creative arts and copyright industries.
Thabiso Titus Paul is a Youth Sector Chairperson at Business Botswana and creative entrepreneur. He is the founder of Motswedi Game and passionate about youth empowerment, cultural innovation and inclusive economic policy in Botswana.
