GET PROFESSIONAL OR FORGET FAIR PAY, LOCAL ARTISTS TOLD

MBABANE – Embattled Swazi musicians should forget about the PEU Circular No3, 2014 pay unless they get professional.
This among other things includes complying with the Swaziland Revenue Authority’s requirements.

The Public Enterprise Unit Circular states that 60 per cent revenue of the budget for any national event should be given to the locals while the 40 per cent should be given to foreigners.
Early this year SRA mandated all citizens to declare their income expenditure so that they can be subjected to tax if applicable.
The deadline was on October 14, 2014.

Mbabane City Council will be hosting a national event on the weekend and the Council’s Public Relations’ Officer Gugulethu Hlophe said the artists should learn to give away something in order to get something in return.
“In this regard we are talking about upcoming and prominent artists and obviously they will get something at the end of the day. However, if the said circular has to apply we need them to declare their accounts expenditure to the SRA so that they also can be subject to taxation,” she said.
The Swaziland National Council of Arts and Culture’s Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Dlamini said he believed that whatever these companies were saying was that artists needed to be professional which of course include issues of opening accounts and formation of contracts.

“Logically it would be tantamount to fraud to pay artists without relevant documentations and it is time artists put their houses in order,” he said.
He went on to state that soon they will be workshoping artists on the issues of professionalism which includes the corporate requirements.
Tom Churchyard who is Qibho and Sands’s Manager said when they exceeded SRA’s minimum limit in a financial year they will comply with SRA’s requirements assigned to that bracket.

“What is important though is finding the right platforms in Swaziland for artists to earn enough to support themselves and adhere to taxation. At present many are not earning even the minimum amount,” he said.

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