ENTERTAINERS FEEL NEGLECTED

MBABANE – The announcement of the partial lockdown on March 26, 2020 resulted in careers being put on hold by government regulations aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of these affected sectors included the arts and entertainment sector, which employ thousands of youth.
The closure of these sectors has left some people without any form of income that would help sustain their livelihoods.

In light of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture in South Africa announcing efforts to put in place relief measures for artists in the entertainment and arts sector, our own entertainers have felt the heat of not being able to get financial support for their cancelled and postponed events.

Some felt that nothing was being done by the government or its relevant organisations towards the tragedy that has befell artists in the kingdom.

Conversation

They shared that this was not something new at all because not even a single conversation was ever held towards finding sustainable and permanent solutions for those pursuing careers in music and the arts. Speaking to artists’ manager, Melusi ‘Zox’ Dlamini, he said it was disheartening that these conversations were not being had and wished that if they were being held privately they shouldn’t be.

“It is only the private sector which has built this industry and continues to help artists generate income using their talents,” said Dlamini. Rapper Illa Penboy also shared his views on the issue, saying he was not aware of any measures that the government was proposing for local artists and he really hoped that the State was aware of the danger that local artists were in due to the lockdown.

“On normal days there are very limited options for a local artist to make a living through art, imagine how bad the situation is now due to the lockdown, as all gatherings are banned until further notice.
“The virus will drastically affect the entertainment industry and the question is how long will local artists  survive if there is no income?” he asked.  

He further mentioned that a lot of artists, especially those in the performing arts such as actors, dancers, and singers, depended largely on group gatherings from exhibitions as well as public performances. These came with a heavy financial impact on such people.

Comedians also had a say on this issue as popular comedian, Bonginkhosi ‘Dr Shakes’ Dlamini shared that he did not think that government was doing anything for the entertainment sector.
“There is nothing that has been communicated with us entertainers, I am not sure about other associations though but for us comedians nothing has been said to that effect.

“Some of us have lost a lot of money since we make a living through entertainment. I was really hoping that in the prime minister’s speech on Wednesday night, he would say something positive about the industry but instead he just said gatherings remained prohibited,” he said.

Tendaness, who is a DJ, shared that entertainment was a very important part of the economy, therefore entertainers deserved the necessary support from the government. “People need entertainment every day to get through life and we help people live through that with our talents. It would not be fair to forget about entertainers at a time like this and we would appreciate any form of support as gatherings remain closed,” said the DJ.

He further went on to urge artists to create businesses around their brands, art and talent because doing so would guarantee them a smooth sail in unexpected times like these. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs through its Communications Officer Sibongiseni Zondi preferred to direct the publication to the Eswatini Council of National Arts and Culture for a comment on the issue.

Sympathy

He did, however, relay his sympathy for artists countrywide with what had befallen them and expressed the ministry’s desire to assist but mentioned that it was unfortunate that most of the funds in the country had to be directed towards preventing the spread of the virus.  ECNAC CEO Stanley Dlamini said they were currently meeting to plan on government’s group recovery plan strategies which were linked with the tourism ministry. “The ministry of tourism has created a task team that would address tourism related issues where arts and festivals appear prominently and we are putting together a document that has short and long term plans,” he said.
He concluded that in the document the focus would be put on the magnitude of events as to which should be opened first, highlighting those that fall under the domestic tourism spectrum first such as comedy shows, pageants and local gigs.

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