ONGWEDIVA – More than 20 girls have registered to participate in the Olufuko Annual Festival, which is scheduled to take place from 1 to 7 July 2023 at Outapi in the Omusati region.
Thus far, 257 exhibitors have registered to showcase their products and services at the event.
At the gala dinner that took place over the weekend, more than N$200 000 was raised, which will go towards the hosting of the event.
In a speech read on his behalf by trade minister Lucia Iipumbu during the gala dinner, Olufuko Patron and Founding President Sam Nujoma said the festival remains an important platform to educate the nation and promote cultural values, norms and heritage.
Nujoma called on churches not to prevent their members from practising their culture because the Namibian Constitution, as the supreme law,
gives freedom of association and identity to all citizens.
“It is very encouraging to note that, among
others, the aim and objective of the festival are to inform the nation about the cultural norms that sustained our previous generations. I am again urging the Olufuko preparatory committee to
keep their focus and not deviate from the original aim and objective of the Olufuko Cultural Festival,” he said.
In addition, he urged small and medium enterprises to become actively involved in the festival by assisting with funds and exhibiting their products and services. “As I have stated on numerous occasions, a nation without culture is like a tree without roots. The Olufuko Cultural Festival is living proof of what a nation can achieve when all stakeholders work together for a common good.”
Also speaking at the gala dinner, Omusati governor Erginus Endjala called on those spreading unsubstantiated information to desist.
“Some people say Olufuko is a wedding. Olufuko is not a wedding, and that is the perception. Some people are saying the way we initiate the girls is because we want them to get married, but this is not true,” he added.
Endjala added that the festival is still facing the challenge of some sponsors pulling out because of misconceptions about the festival.
Meanwhile, the Outapi Town Council has set aside N$700 000 for the renovation of infrastructure at the Olufuko centre.