Programmes manager at Ukhozi FM Sbongi Ngcobo has been away from work since last week, leading to speculation that she has been suspended as the controversy around Ingoma Ehlukanisa Unyaka (Song of The Year) Competition at the station continues. Ngcobo is accused of favouring award-winning maskandi artist Khuzani Mpungose.
SONG OF THE YEAR CONTROVERSY
The 2023 Song of the Year was won by Khuzani but received a lot of criticism from listeners who felt that his song Umjolo Lowo did not deserve the win. Khuzani won the competition with over 900 000 votes while his nemesis and fellow maskandi artist Mthandeni "Igcokama Elisha" Manqele came second with a song titled Paris where he features Lwah Ndlunkulu.
This angered listeners and those in the music industry with many taking to social media to voice their dissatisfaction with the choice for Song of the Year. Many felt that the Paris was way more loved by people than Umjolo Lowo.
According to reports, the social media uproar caught the attention of the SABC Head of Radio, Nada Wotshela. According to sources at the public broadcaster, the SABC has begun investigating the concerns raised by Ukhozi FM listeners over the Song of the Year Competition.
THE INVESTIGATION
ZiMoja understands that the SABC's top brass Wotshela and colleague Siphelele Sixaso met with Ukhozi FM music compilers last week to get to the bottom of the matter. "The SABC is under pressure to fix the wrongs that have been happening around the Song of the Year debacle. Music compilers were never consulted over the Top 10 songs that were going to compete. They were just given the Top 10 list and they had to put them on the system," the source said. The source added that Sbongi has been put on temporary leave while Wotshela and Sixaso are conducting investigations at the station. "They are talking to everyone at the station that might have had a hand in the manipulation of the system. The questions were raised on how Khuzani's song made it to the Top 10 when it had only been played three times at the station. People are not happy with the management and they feel their voices are no longer important. Trust me, Sbongi might not return to the station or she will be demoted," the source alleges.
SABC DENIED SUSPENDING THE MANAGER
Called for comment, Acting Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Marketing ,Mmoni Seapolela, denied that Ngcobo has been temporary suspended. Seapolela failed to give reasons why Ngcobo has not been at work since the arrival of Wotshela and Sixaso at their Durban offices. "The SABC is noting with concern the emergence of a ploy to continuously find faults concerning the Ukhozi FM's Ingoma Ehlukanisa Unyaka campaign. Like all other organisations, the SABC engages in meetings to improve its operations, and this is not an anomaly. It must however be noted that all SABC internal meetings are not subject to discussion in the public space and as a result management will not be drawn to provide any details emanating from staff meetings with anyone or the media," she said, adding: "To put the record straight, management would like to state that Ukhozi FM's Ingoma Ehlukanisa Unyaka is not a project assigned to one individual. The project comprises of the participation of many colleagues including station management, marketing team and the music committee and as per norm, there is no competition that the station embarks on without duly communicating its terms and conditions on air," she said.
Seapolela further said that the competition was no different as the terms were communicated to the listeners on air. "Artists are free to campaign the way that they see fit to secure a win, and therefore the unhappiness of some listeners about his win cannot be blamed on Ms Ngcobo. Lastly, it is not true that Ngcobo is suspended, and it is also not true that there is an investigation into the Ingoma ehlukanisa Unyaka campaign as a result of the concerns raised by the listeners. However, all the inputs from various stakeholders will be taken into consideration as we improve the campaign," she said.
