Afro-soul musician Simphiwe Dana has come hard on the new Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, accusing him of lying about her receiving money from the Covid-19 relief fund. After being appointed the new minister, McKenzie's department published a list of beneficiaries of the fund and Dana's name also appeared, stating that she had received R20 000.

DEMANDING AN APOLOGY

The publication of the list saw some artists complaining that they were not beneficiaries of the funding. The funds were made available by former Sports, Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, who has since taken the position of Ambassador of SA in France. On Saturday, Dana wrote on her Facebook page: "Gayton refusing to apologise for accusing me of taking 20k from artists who really needed it is annoying me to no end. I don't know why Titi put my name in her application and I'm thinking of taking it further." ZiMoja has learned that Titi was her music director, who applied for the grant using Dana's details.

SHE DID NOT BENEFIT FROM THE COVID-19 RELIEF FUND

Dana, in chat with her followers on her page, explained that her details were used to benefit, and she did not get a cent. Replying to a follower, Dana said: "The only thing I did during Covid-19 was apply to create work for my band members. I didn't earn anything for myself personally. It was 18 months of hell. Now the application Titi submitted came from my email. Which, if true, is fraud. And suddenly, they've lost the documents, so I can ascertain what really happened," she said.

Dana also believes what McKenzie is doing is alienating artists. She said, "He's alienating artists and his job is to work with them. But the public seems to like him. It's not difficult to turn them on him. Bonang (Matheba) turned people on Nathi Mthethwa," she wrote.

She is also worried that her brand will be affected by these accusations. "The problem is that my brand is affected because people suppose I used government funds when there were qualified people who needed them. Also, he put the whole thing in an accusatory manner. As an activist, this annoys me greatly. I may let it go. But I need to know why my email was claimed to be in it," she said. The Department of Arts and Culture spokesperson Zimasa Velaphi said the department had not received an official complaint from Dana. "We can only respond once she has officially complained and investigate properly," Velaphi said.