Traditional music achievers honoured

THE first leg of the South African Traditional Music Achievement Awards (Satma) starts tonight at the Buffalo Park cricket ground.

Festivities tonight include a comedy show and the non-musical category awards ceremony, while the main awards show will take place tomorrow night.

The 12 categories for tonight’s awards are: Best Cultural Talk Show; Best Traditional Dance Group; Best Provincial Department of Arts and Culture; Best Praise Singer; Best Community Radio DJ; Best African Jazz; Best Traditional and Cultural News Journalist (Print);

Best Traditional and Cultural News Journalist (Electronic); Best Reggae; Best Poet; Best Vernacular Hip Hop; and Best Indigenous Comedian. Satma chief executive officer Nyami Sotomela said everything was in place.

“We have witnessed and also noted an improved level of planning for this year’s Satma awards,” she said.

Sotomela said they had increased their brand visibility around the city.

Satma project coordinator Belinda Mabizela said artists like East London’s Berita, Pitch Black Afro, Vusi Nova and Mfiliseni Magubane would entertain the crowd tonight.

Isibaya drama series actor and comedian Celeste Ntuli is the events programme director.

Mabizela said the National Heritage Council would honour Dumisani Goba, the founder of the awards.