‘Government of national unity’ (GNU)* Sport, Arts & Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie pulled no punches recently when he told the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFFs’)* Nolubabalo McInga-Dalindyebo that “it is better to allow ... consumers of the arts to decide what they like, and to reward what they like honestly, than for government to ... try to support everyone who would like to be an artist, or who self-describes themselves as one”. This was the thrust of the Minister’s documented reply to a question about the availability of government assistance for actors and musicians ‘seeking employment’.
Apparently penned by the Department of Sport, Arts & Culture’s Deputy Director for Communication, Phatheka Ntanta, the ministerial reply includes unnecessarily disparaging references to “command-and-control” systems “such as communism” – and the “lack of innovation, competition, growth and general prosperity” in “most countries’ with “heavily socialist policies”. This may have been prompted by an abhorrence for the EFF’s leftist leanings – a polar opposite to those of the Patriotic Alliance, of which McKenzie is president. But had the Minister and his scribe done their homework, they might have responded differently.
Because McInga-Dalindyebo’s question was probably more about the gaps between live performances and film/TV contracts when most musicians and actors have no income. And in that context, the Minister’s distinction between successful and less popular artists under a free-market economy “where not everyone can succeed” was tasteless and trite. The EFF 2024 election manifesto clearly spells out the party’s commitment to providing creative and cultural practitioners with “the protection guaranteed by labour relations laws and a minimum wage for those contracted for longer periods, such as actors, radio, and TV presenters”.
In June 2024, the University of Pretoria’s Gwen Ansell wrote in a News24 article taken from The Conversation that local “musicians carry significant opportunity costs in terms of the long and usually unpaid rehearsal and practice hours they have to put in to stay skilled. During that time, they cannot do other work. They (also) carry significant working costs: instrument and equipment purchase and upkeep; studio and venue hire; and – most significantly for many – transport. Some reported turning down engagements because travel costs would be higher than the fee offered.”
South African actor Jack Devnarain regularly draws attention to the plight of local film and TV artists. Most recently, following the death of fellow actor Darlington Michaels, he told The Citizen’s Bonginkosi Tiwane “there is nothing in South African law that allows an actor to claim royalties or residuals for the ‘ongoing exploitation’ of their work”. Darlington passed away in difficult circumstances – despite the success of film and TV projects generating money for “everybody else but him”, possibly over decades.
At least the Minister acknowledged how “difficult” it is to “have a successful career in the arts”, which – in his view – is what makes the achievements of those who do ... all the more remarkable, and ... something we should celebrate”.
But how crass!
In May 2022, government published a ‘cultural and creative industry masterplan’ with the intention of facilitating the growth of an “innovative and sustainable” sector that “effectively contributes to the creation of decent work”. This was noting “South Africa’s diverse and dynamic arts and culture heritage”, which is one of the country’s “richest and most important resources, with the capacity to generate significant economic and social benefits” for its people. Precisely what has happened since then is anybody’s guess. If the ambitious industry-specific targets for each successive year have been achieved, nobody seems to have written or spoken about them.
Neither has the 2022 masterplan been officially discarded or replaced with something more workable. Or at least, as far as we can tell. So, why didn’t Sport, Arts & Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie mention it in his response to the EFF’s questions? Does he know about the masterplan? Does his scribe? Does the EFF? Does the ‘GNU’?
Probably not ...
Footnote: political parties represented in Parliament’s National Assembly
*GNU member parties are the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Patriotic Alliance (PA), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Good, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Al Jama-ah, Rise Mzansi and the United Africans Transformation (UAT).
*The EFF is one of several political parties represented in Parliament outside the GNU. The others are: uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), ActionSA, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Build One South Africa (BOSA), the African Transformation Movement (ATM) and the National Coloured Congress (NCC).
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