A DIRECTOR at Dzimbanhete Arts Interactions, Chikonzero Chazunguza, has said the completion of the African Union Village, built to honour President Robert Mugabe, has been hampered due to lack of funding.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
Mugabe is the current chairperson of the African Union. The project, which has already seen the construction of Namibian, Botswana, South African and Zimbabwean pavilions, requires a huge cash injection.
Chazunguza said each of the 54 pavilions would showcase the represented country’s architectural and cultural heritage.
He said they had deliberately not approached donors because “cultural heritage should not be donor-funded”, adding that the project would be the first of its kind on the continent.
“We are hoping that the government will take pride in this project and realise its worth as far as cultural preservation is concerned,” he said.
The village is expected to be complete by the end of November and each sub-village will have two structures resembling the architectural types in the represented country.
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He said African embassies would benefit from the project as they would use their pavilions to showcase their cultures through holding national day celebrations at their respective villages.
“The villages will also showcase their culture through food, attire, crafts and stories. Special programmes will be conducted during Africa Day celebrations, Day of the African Child, Culture Week as well as camps for children,” Chazunguza said.
Already, a festival of African culture — dubbed Mbira-Folk Sunsplash 2015 — has been slated for the first two weeks of December at the village.
There will be exhibitions, installations, poetry, theatre and music as part of the festival.
