His reality show was a hit. He was loved across the country for his wit, fashion sense and interesting family dynamics. But legendary Shangaan disco artist Eric Kulani Giyani Nkovani, better known as Papa Penny, has since lost the show after it was canned due to financial disagreements with the production company, SeMamo Productions.?

CALLING IT OFF?

He shot the reality show for four seasons, and he was a few episodes into shooting season five when the show was canned. "Penny could not reach an agreement with the company producing the show. He wanted more money and that was affecting the quality of the production,' says an insider."He also wanted money to go directly to his account, which was high risk because it meant production would need to ask him for funds for the running of the show and that's not practical. So, they had to part ways.'

TAXES AND COSTS

Last year, reports stated that the Siya Vuma singer was at loggerheads with the production company due to claims of unpaid taxes and travel and accommodation costs. These led to the cancellation of his reality show, Papa Penny Ahee. "Those people still owe me money,' he tells ZiMoja. "I still want the money they owe me. If they want to keep the show, it's okay but there can't be another Penny Penny. I'm not fighting, they need to do what is right.'

PAY UP

Papa Penny has also since been looking for a company to continue his reality show dream. He tells ZiMoja that, "Everything happens for a reason. People love Penny Penny and the family. They want to see us on TV but those people exploited me. They paid me R300 000 for season one and the same for season two. Then we negotiated that they give me R400 000 for seasons three and four. They did not include money for my VAT and when my auditor realised that I approached them to pay the VAT because I was unaware that it was not included, they refused.' Papa Penny says there are many other occurrences that made him unhappy. "They were not paying my family up until season three. My mother died on season four without having been paid. My mother died without receiving her money from the production company,' he says. "They even treated us badly. There was a time, we flew to Mauritius, and they put us up at a dumping place and not the beautiful side of Mauritius. They flew me in first class and Mams Nomi in economy class. I had to pay for her to be in first class on the way back. I got sponsors for the show and they tried to speak badly of me to the sponsors,' he adds. "I am not a greedy person, I don't do this just for money, but they are making it seem as though I am greedy.' After many attempts to reach out to SeMamo management, ZiMoja failed at the time of publishing.