Johnathan Paoli
THE Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have condemned the recent announcement by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), which disclosed payments made to international musician Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona, aka Makhadzi, as disingenuous and deflecting.
National spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said on Wednesday the EFF called on the department to retract their statement and issue a formal apology to Makhadzi for what it called baseless and damaging insinuations.
This follows a statement released by the department, in which it rejected claims of artists not receiving support.
Departmental head of communications Zimasa Velaphi said over the past 14 months, Makhadzi had been booked by the DSAC to perform in several national engagements, receiving as much as R230 000.
However, Mathys said the department chose to deflect its lack of logistical support for her trip to the United States of America to receive her Black Entertainment Television award by disclosing amounts of money it paid to the musician for her performances and appearances.
The red berets maintained that this attempt to portray the payments as a form of support is both disingenuous and reprehensible.
“Let us be clear: the payments made to Makhadzi were for professional services rendered, not gratuitous support. To insinuate otherwise is to undermine her achievements and hard work,” Mathys said.
She said the department is notorious for consistently failing to support artists adequately, and that during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was the party who provided the necessary aid to struggling artists when the department fell short.
“This department has even earned the moniker ‘Department of Condolences’ due to its tendency to offer platitudes rather than tangible support,” Mathys said.
The spokesperson called on DSAC to redirect their efforts towards eradicating the wasteful expenditure and corruption and begin implementing programmes that actually support artists.
“Minister McKenzie must stand by his commitments without scapegoating artists like Makhadzi, who embody the excellence of our nation’s creative sector,” she said.
Makhadzi previously confirmed that she had no choice but to take a loan from a loan shark for the trip to Los Angeles, in order to attend BET Awards.
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