By THEBEETSILE KEAMEDITSE
Plans are afoot to resuscitate the creative industry with a specific focus on various artistic projects to help mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in the North West. This was a commitment made by the North West Premier, Bushy Maape during a stakeholder engagement with the creative industry and the youth held at Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sports Foundation in Mahikeng.
Maape, who was amongst others accompanied to the stakeholder engagement by the North West MEC for Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation, Virginia Tlhapi, also urged the youth to be solution driven on challenges of socio-economic concern plaguing the province.
“The industry is one of the economic sectors which have suffered serious financial losses as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The youth unemployment rate has also risen exponentially in the last few months. The negative perception that the province has endured over the last few years needs to change.
“We need to change the wrong perception about the province and we can only do that through investing in the creative industry and the youth. The history of the North West remains largely untold but through proper planning and coordination, we can change a lot of negative perceptions about the province and attract investment,” he said.
Maape further said they will ‘be working’ together with the youth and the creative industry on various entrepreneurship projects to help resuscitate the economy. He also urged the youth to go out in numbers and get vaccinated.
According to statistics, the province has just passed the one million mark of people who have been vaccinated. North West plans to reach population immunity by December 2021.
(Edited by: Obakeng Maje)
The Guardian 