Mxolisi Phiri IKO CEO: Picture: Supplied
As Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled his Budget speech yesterday, the creative industry remained hopeless as they regard themselves as the forgotten sector.
This comes as many of the veterans of the industry and up-and-coming talent are being neglected.
Innovating Kasi Organization (IKO) founder and CEO Mxolisi Phiri said they weren’t expecting anything from yesterday’s Budget, saying it would be the case when Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa tabled the departmental budget as well.
Phiri said they were not expecting anything, since the department was going to fund the same people they’ve been funding all these years.
He, however, said he expected the minister and the department to invest more in township and rural areas’ recreation centres as well as in disadvantaged schools, to empower more organisations on the ground that are actually doing the work.
“To have programmes to empower our legends both in arts and sports. The other expectation is that the distribution of the Budget should be transparent and be fair. We cannot fund the same organisations that have been benefiting for years all the time.
“Some of the Budget needs to speak about being patriotic, meaning how to build the image of this country. It should speak on how to preserve our history,” he added.
IKO has been working throughout communities, helping young, up-and-coming artists to find their way in the industry.
The organisation has worked with artists such as the late Zahara, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Blondie Makhene, to mention a few.
Phiri said the organisation’s main aim was to develop artists and speak on their behalf, as many of the artist were being exploited and left to die penniless.
The former chief operating officer of the SABC, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, played a critical role in developing and uplifting South African artist by introducing the 90% quota at the corporation.
At the time, Motsoeneng said the idea was that the country’s artist can’t die in poverty while the SABC was paying millions of rand to international artists.
As part of his plans to empower artists, in 2016 Motsoeneng and his executive took a decision to pay about 53 legends in the industry R50 000 each, a decision that has since been set aside.
Spokesperson for the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Litha Mpondwana, said the department would table its own budget vote, where the minister would detail how the money would be spent.
“Today’s Budget has nothing to do with our department. Wait until we table ours. I promise you everyone would be included, as its always the case,” said Mpondwana.
The Star
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