BOMU SLAMS COSBOTS
Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) has expressed concern over the failure of the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) to give it an ear.
BOMU released a press statement on Friday indicating that COSBOSTS has been sending it from pillar to post since last year October. BOMU’s concern comes shortly after members of COSBOTS expressed shock and dismay at a leaked document that revealed the amount of money some members and employees of COSBOTS earn.
“Like a guilty thief, they have been avoiding us since last year October to date. We had finally hoped to meet them as planned this Friday (August 27, 2021) after almost 12 months of trying to reach out to them to discuss the concerns of our members and try find a resolution to enable a smooth relationship between the Botswana Creative
Industry, Botswana Musicians Union and other very important stakeholders.
After COSBOTS had confirmed this meeting, we were shocked to wake up to their email cancelling the same mentioned meeting,” BOMU secretary general Winfred Rasina revealed in a statement.
Rasina added that the fact that COSBOTS cancelled a meeting of such nature in the middle of the night raises eyebrows.
He stated that the cancellation of the scheduled meeting through an email is a further refusal of COSBOTS to account for the millions of money it collects as royalties on behalf of members. Rasina said the monies do not reach members and rather end up in the pockets of a select few.
He also emphasised that the uinion had tried to avoid engaging COSBOTS on the matter publicly but now it had no choice but resort to go on public engagement. Rasina likened the tendency of COSBOTS to that of a rude and discourteous criminal. He revealed that their members have recently received as little as P1 from COSBOTS in the name of royalties. “COSBOTS has refused and continues to refuse engagement with BOMU, yet it continues to amass economic gains from the musical and creative products of our members and the whole Botswana Creative Industry.
These unscrupulous tendencies practiced by a select few and their cronies through fat board allowances and extremely ballooned staff salaries, inclusion of unnecessary huge rentals of big buildings and unjustified staff complement is done so with absolute and painful disregard to those who create the arts products that COSBOTS collects royalties through.
This is a shameful behavior,” he concluded. Efforts to reach COSBOTS spokesperson Seeletso Lekgaba for comment were futile as her mobile phone was unreachable at press time.