The South African Music awards, which are one of the most anticipated award ceremonies in South Africa, were scheduled to be hosted in Durban, KwaZulu Natal on 17 and 18 November 2023 but they have now been canned. This was announced earlier today by the MEC of the KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs Siboniso Duma. This comes after controversy surrounding the provincial government having reportedly applied to the provincial treasury for virements, which is the transfer of funds from one financial account or part of a budget to another to allow it to raise R20 million to R28 million to host the awards.

CANCELLED

Duma said during the media briefing that after several consultations, a decision to cancel the SAMAs from being hosted in Durban was made. "As an executive authority having consulted widely with the executive council and other stakeholders," Duma said. "I have advised the department to stop the hosting of the South African Music Awards this year. Senior Management has been mandated to engage with the Recording Industries Of South Africa (RISA) and report back to me and executive authority and will report to the council as the hosting of the SAMAs was a collective decision."

ARTISTS LOSS

Duma went on to say that the SAMAs were a way of boosting the creative industry after the Covid-19 economic drought faced by artists. "We reiterate our point that our hearts are with the artists whose lives were distorted by the effects of Covid-19," Duma adds. "The SAMAs were their hope and a source of income ahead of the festive season. Having said that, for the record, we wish to reiterate the following points, we have made consistently that the procurement process was followed to secure approval from the provincial treasury for funding of the SAMAs was above board transparency and free of any irregularities."

SCANDAL

Duma concluded that the SAMAs documents which have been available to the public have been used as a weapon against the department. "Unfortunately, in the process of ensuring transparency, official and public documents have been weaponised against the department to scandalise this national event with a global following," he added. "The R28 million and other figures being thrown around are part of a campaign aimed at confusing the people. The actual amount is around R20 million before VAT and this amount is based on our last consultation, as we have repeatedly stated that we have had ongoing consultations." In the past, KZN has hosted national events with millions of Rands generated into the provincial economy including the Metro FM Awards, the Crown Gospel Awards, and other concerts. Such events positioned the province as a tourism destination and for investment. He went on to say that hosting the SAMAs followed the successful bid against other provinces." Duma said.

ACTIONSA'S PLIGHT

Following reports on the controversy, President Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the president cautioned Duma against the planned splurge of R28 million on the award ceremony. ActionSA KZN chairperson Zwakele Mncwango who first came forward to raise the budget concerns says they welcome departmen's withdrawal of the planned R28 million splurge on the SAMAs. The party demanded the halt which allegedly was going to result in a cumulative total of R53 million of taxpayers' money being inappropriately earmarked. "We thank the MEC for heeding our calls after we sounded the alarm earlier this month. From the outset, we asserted that this was either an ill-advised attempt by the government to waste taxpayers' money on a vanity project or a potentially sinister ploy, considering the absence of an itemised budget with accurate and substantiated figures," ActionSA said in a statement adding that, "As previously communicated, EDTEA planned to spend R28 million on the SAMAs without the necessary approval, diverting funds from other programs that, in our view, lacked fiscal justification. Furthermore, eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda's unilateral committal of an additional R25 million for hosting the SAMAs was done without prior council approval. This led us to believe that this must be stopped." RiSA CEO Advocate Nhlanhla Sibisi was not available for comment at the time of publishing.

The Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA), responsible for the SA Music Awards (SAMA) learned with disappointment this morning of the eleventh-hour decision by the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) in KwaZulu-Natal to withdraw from SAMA29. "We have a three-year contract with EDTA and will be consulting with our contractual partners, to find out what led to this decision and carve a way forward. As such, we will advise in due course what the next steps for SAMA29 will be." RiSA CEO Nhlanhla Sibisi says they note with dismay that a prestigious, credible, and apolitical national cultural asset that has been in operation for 29 uninterrupted years, longer than any other award ceremony in South Africa and the continent, has been characterised as a conduit for looting. "This is an assertion that we as RiSA strongly rebuke. It is problematic that an institution of great importance to the pulse of our cultural economy has been violated for cheap politicking," Sibisi says. He adds that what has been lost in all of the resultant noise are the economic benefits of hosting a show of this magnitude for any city or province. "The SAMA is not a superfluous party, any such assertion flies in the face of the contribution made by the SAMA to the Mzansi Golden Economy. It stood to benefit the creative sector as well as to ignite a number of other economies including tourism, hospitality, retail, transportation, and the informal sector. " The statement goes on to say, "Contrary to spurious allegations, our conversation with the City of eThekwini had been on infrastructure and logistics support and did not include any financial contribution. We are thankful for the support shown by the government of KZN to our industry which was hardest hit by the devastating Covid-19 pandemic and other calamities such as floods, as well as a tough economic environment our practitioners find themselves in. Unfortunately, the net losers in the sudden turn of events are the musicians and creatives who oftentimes receive the short end of the stick." RiSA says they however remain committed to the cause of musicians and putting them first. We look forward to celebrating these gallant South African heroes of song and dance at an event that befits their stature."