I did a lot for the arts industry – Mthethwa

FORMER arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa says he did more for the arts industry than his detractors claim – painting him as a failure.

As the Sunday Tribune exclusively reported in June, Mthethwa has been appointed as South Africa’s new ambassador to France, the international cultural melting pot.

During a telephonic interview on July 4, after the Sunday Tribune story was published, Mthethwa said his department was not all about musicians, but about the arts in general.

“There are certain musicians who are hell-bound to destroy my legacy as a minister of arts and culture, but I have done enough for the industry,” he said.

Mthethwa said industry experts had often applauded him for what he had done.

“It is a shame and disrespectful for people to claim I was just a minister of funerals. The department during my tenure did a lot, more than attending funerals of fallen musicians,” he said.

Mthethwa shared some of the highlights, which included the establishment of the South African Cultural Observatory (Saco) in 2015.

Saco is a research arm of the department providing data on the cultural and creative sectors.

Mthethwa said he had also established the cultural diplomacy programme, which saw the department provide financial support to artists travelling around the world, exporting South Africa’s cultural goods and services.

He said the department also created many job opportunities for artists and support staff at various music festivals, including the Cape Jazz Festival, Macufe, Mahika Mahikeng, Mapungubwe, Buyelekhaya and the Joy of Jazz.

He also mentioned that in 2022, the department launched the Van Toeka AF Living Legends Recognition Series to recognise and acclaim legends as individuals, which had so far recognised Professor Pitika Ntuli, James Matthews, the late Dr Latozi “Madosini” Mpahleni and Dr Peter Magubane.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he added, the department financially supported athletes and especially artists to the tune of R808 million and helped them to retain and create more than 35 000 job opportunities, with 59 000 persons benefiting.

But some industry patrons claim the money was spent on musicians who have aligned themselves with the ruling party.

“One person was awarded three different grants because he used different entities linked to him, while some of us got nothing. They only supported ANC sympathisers and not the industry,” said one musician, who asked not to be named.

Kwaito star Eugene Mthethwa, who is also an EFF MP, said the minister’s redeployment as South Africa’s ambassador to France was a disgrace.

“The man failed dismally as our minister of arts and culture. What do they expect him to do different on the global stage? We all know France is the international melting pot of arts and culture, and we are sending someone who was fired after he failed to perform as our minister of arts and culture,” the musician said.

The former minister said the musician had a personal vendetta against him.

“At some stage he even claimed that I had hired hit men to kill him,” the former minister said.

The musician said the ANC had turned ambassadorial positions into a retirement strategy for their members who failed in their government duties.

“The ambassadorial positions have become the ANC retirement plans for their members who failed our people while in government,” the Trompies member said.

Mthethwa had been part of the executive since 2008 and resigned as an MP shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa fired him during the Cabinet reshuffle in March.

He was minister of safety and security under former president Kgalema Motlanthe. Former president Jacob Zuma made him his minister of police between 2009 and 2014. Zuma moved him to arts and culture in 2019.