AN AFRICAN country is gambling £2.5 million that a new film based on the best-selling books about The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency will be a hit.
Work on the film, based on Edinburgh author Alexander McCall Smith's novels about an intrepid female sleuth, began in Botswana this month, and it is the first major production hosted by the arid nation more famous for its diamonds and wildlife than f
or movie-star glamour.
The film, directed by Anthony Minghella, features the US singer Jill Scott in the lead role of Precious Ramotswe - the owner of a Botswana detective agency. Anika Noni Rose, who starred in the film Dreamgirls, is Ramotswe's secretary, Grace Makutsi.
"The movie has two primary characters," Minghella said. "One is Mma Ramotswe and the other is Botswana as a whole. It tries to tell a story of what is wonderful, what is magical, about Botswana and about the rest of Africa."
But the magic is missing for some in Botswana, who say the government's £2.5 million offer to underwrite the film is a case of misplaced priorities in a country that, despite mineral riches, remains largely poor.
"What is [the] government trying to do? Where have you seen that being done anywhere else in the world?" fumed one participant in a radio phone-in. "I think our government has a wrong interpretation of the word tourism."
Kitso Mokaila, the tourism minister, whose department was responsible for the £2.5 million film fund, insisted the movie presented "a rare opportunity" for Botswana to market itself as a premier African travel destination.
"People can say what they want. But I can tell you that this decision, taken with the approval of cabinet, was not a mistake as it will go a long way in ensuring that Botswana and what it can offer in terms of tourism get international recognition," he said.
Botswana has been struggling to get away from its over-reliance on diamonds, which account for about a third of export earnings. "We always talk diversification of the economy, and when an opportunity like this avails itself, we start pointing fingers," Mr Mokaila said.
Shombi Ellis, a radio talk-show host - who has a minor role in the film - said she was disappointed with most of the sentiments aired on her show, where callers repeatedly questioned the wisdom of pumping money into film-making.
"We are sending a wrong message to the rest of the world," she said.
McCall Smith's books have been a stunning global success, selling in excess of 15 million English-language copies alone.
They have already been credited with sparking a mini-tourism boom in Botswana, a former British protectorate with a population of about two million. A growing number of tourists are visiting Mochudi, Ramotswe's home town.
The full article contains 475 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
