Branton Matondo
Manicaland arts sector has lamented on impending isolation by government, a plight made worse by centralization of programmes in Harare and Bulawayo.
This came at a recently held artist’s status meeting held at Chancellor Primary School in Mutare graced by member associations from Nyanga, Mutare and various parts of Manicaland.
Seasoned artist and administrator Kiven Simomondo said decisions and activities to do with the arts sector are always made in Harare and Bulawayo, a disheartening feat that has led to other provinces feeling left out.
“The recognition of artists should benefit everyone, not only those in Harare and Bulawayo. We want equal opportunities because we all operate in the same country.” said Simomondo
He said government is failing to appreciate art’s welfare as competition rewards always come late and in most cases end up depleted by the ever rising inflation.
“Last year we went to Herbert Chitepo festival on the 18th of December. The parent Ministry, Ministry of Sport, arts and recreation was hosting the event. We were confident that payment was going to be given on the day of or maybe 3 days later but after winning the competition we had to wait for 6 months for payment of US$1,500. The money appeared last week in my account with December last year’s bankrate which was at RTGS$500 for US$1”,” said Simomondo
Adding to his grievances Simomondo said the ministry is abusing artists who invest and survive on arts.
Seasoned music artist Tendai Chari said the Ministry and the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) were sleeping on duty as there is no vibrant response to cases and grievances.
“It’s difficult for me to report issues of nonpayment by promoters to NACZ which is under the Ministry but it’s even more difficult when the Ministry which we are supposed to be reporting to is doing the same. I played at one of the biggest hotels in Zimbabwe and l went for a year without payment and I had nowhere to report because if you go and report you will be tossed from office to office.”
On the issue of centralization of programmes in Harare Chari said dissemination of information was the main challenge and the relationship between artists and NACZ was poor.
“There is a problem of poor communication, I was in for the longest time, you miss programmes and you only know of them when they are already past, the information does not get to the right people at the right time. The NACZ is there to oversee and promote the practice of arts in Zimbabwe. It’s like a parent to us as artists but the relationship between us and NACZ is not solid, there is a gap and it makes it difficult for the parent to know what is really going on.”
The meeting which was graced by members of NACZ board was a call out for artists to air out issues affecting their line of work.
Responding to issues raised by artist, NACZ Legal and Compliance Officer Alex Majachani said there were areas that needed attention to solve the challenges
“From the responses we got today it appears that there are two areas that need attention. The first one is the issue of contracts, maybe artists don’t appreciate what is needed to come up with contracts. The second one is the running of arts businesses because there are a lot of legalities that have to be done. Even if we are crafting our laws we have to take that into consideration.”
He said such status meetings were a deliberate effort by NACZ for the new board to meet and engage artists and understand what they are doing and where they are going.
“On our part, this is a deliberate arrangement because we are saying as a new body which is coming on board we have to meet the artist’s to understand the challenges they are facing. This will help in service delivery. As you are aware the role of NACZ in relation with NACZ Act is to foster and promote arts development. You cannot develop when you don’t know the problem.”
