KELLY GETS HER CASH
But Hotstix is singing the Covid-19 blues
● While more than 2,000 of SA’s performing artists have received relief funds from the department of arts & culture for gigs cancelled during the lockdown, others complain of being left out in the cold.
While the likes of musicians and singers Arthur Mafokate, Kelly Khumalo, Caiphus Semenya and Fifi Cooper — as well as poet laureate Mongane Wally Serote — are listed as having received one-off payments of between R10,000 and R20,000 to help them during the crisis, others claim the department has given them nothing.
During a parliamentary portfolio committee meeting this week, MPs grilled officials about who was on the 42-page list of beneficiaries. The department said 4,773 applications for relief had been received and 2,320 payments totalling R39.26m had been made.
Legends such as Letta Mbulu and Abigail Kubeka also made the list, with Arno Carstens and the Drakensberg Boys Choir. None of those who made the list responded to calls from the Sunday Times to inquire about whether they had received the money.
Meanwhile, renowned musician Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse has been left fuming at his apparent rejection.
Mabuse’s manager, Martin Myers, said he applied for funding for Mabuse and his ninemember band after the cancellation of several gigs including the Kimberley Jazz Festival, which had been scheduled for April and would have earned them R98,000.
After his initial application was rejected due to insufficient documentation and an unsigned contract, Myers appealed and submitted the correct documents.
Department spokesperson Masechaba Khumalo said on Friday Mabuse had now received his relief funding, but the singer and his manager still maintain they have received nothing.
Another singer who says she is struggling with the department is Simphiwe Dana, who claims she has received a portion of the R20,000 she was due, but not the full amount.
“I have hardly worked at all this year. If I had three gigs I would’ve been lucky. I honestly don’t know how long we can go on for. Even these funds are a drop in the ocean,” she said.
“Losses incurred during this time have been severe. The value chain of my business has been severely affected. We are living off our savings as we speak — and they are fast running out.”
Actor Luciano Zuppa, with a professional theatre career dating to 1983, said he feels “abandoned” by the government “after 37 years of paying my taxes”.
“I have applied four times since March to the government relief fund without any response as to why I won’t receive financial support or even why I am not eligible to receive funding,” Zuppa said.
Zuppa had been working at the Peoples Theatre at the Joburg Theatre Complex for the past three years and Jungle Book Kids was his 10th production there. The show had been on for two weeks before it had to shut down. Out of nine cast members, only three were awarded relief, he said.
MPs questioned officials about why some artists received more than others.
Khumalo responded that beneficiaries had to prove they had “lost income due to cancelled engagements”.
One category of relief was for those who had lost income because of the lockdown — with a cap of R20,000 per person — and a second was for people who were developing digital solutions to help artists survive through online performances. Payments to these people were capped at R75,000.
In the second category, submissions were made by content creators who wanted to provide online shows, “be they music, dance, poetry, comedy, art exhibitions, master classes, workshops and any other presentation that could be classified as falling under the cultural and creative sector”. Khumalo said novelty and creativity were the main determinants in judging applications for funding.
One successful applicant was Mohale Motaung, husband of choreographer and Idols judge Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung, who is the CEO of Glam Troupe, a company that specialises in fashion and styling for matric dances. “During this time, we’ve had to be innovative in the way that we are to function,” Motaung said. “So we proposed a social media singing competition to the department.”
More than 200 entries had been received for the contest.
I honestly don’t know how long we can go on for. Even these funds are a drop in the ocean Simphiwe Dana
Singer/songwriter