Following the recent revelations about Bakwena Productions not paying their cast and crew on time, the production company says they overcapitalised themselves, which led to the delay in payments.
Bakwena Productions is co-owned by actor, producer and director Kagiso Modupe and his business partner Rashaka Muofhe, who is the executive producer and managing director of the company.
Pound 4 Pound actors salaries delay
In recent months the company has made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Among them, it allegedly failed to pay salaries of the cast and crew of Pound 4 Pound.
The SABC recently admitted to appointing the controversial company. It appointed Bakwena Productions to produce the telenovela Pimville.
Last week, Sunday World also reported that the SABC had commissioned Bakwena Productions for the project.
Tsholofelo Katlego Bodlani, a DA parliamentarian and member of the portfolio committee on communications and technology, intervened, prompting Nomsa Chabeli, the SABC’s Group CEO, to finally respond.
SABC admits hiring controversial company
Chabeli admitted that Bakwena Productions was appointed despite their past failure to pay actors in time. Also their failure to pay service providers and background actors.
She wrote: “The SABC contracted Bakwena Productions in 2024 for the delivery of a new production, Pimville. It is set to be broadcast on SABC2.”
At the time of contracting Bakwena Productions, the SABC was aware of allegations of delayed and non-payments to cast and crew on some of their previous productions.
Chabeli emphasised that Bakwena Productions is an emerging company in need of more supervision and support.
New production
“To ensure the SABC does not encounter issues with the production of Pimville, a supervising producer was appointed to work closely with the production house and ensure ongoing compliance.
“While the SABC is not directly responsible for the payment of cast and crew — as this is the responsibility of the appointed production house — it is important to state that the SABC does not condone the exploitation of creatives. And it holds itself accountable for ensuring that all contractual obligations are met.”
Producers decry trial by media
In a candid exclusive interview with Sunday World on Thursday, Bakwena producers said that actors and crew were paid. They said what is true is that they were paid three months late.
“As the business, we encountered a wobble during the shooting of Pound 4 Pound. And we were not able to pay the cast and crew on time. We then had to find a way to raise the capital to pay everyone.
“At the same time, we had to respect our contractual obligations with our partner at the time, which was BET,” said Muofhe.
Muofhe further stated that there were staff members who were going to the media, which was a breach of contract. They came out with their grievances and discussed contractual matters with the media.
“The media damaged our name, and subsequent to that, we struggled to get work and had to cease operations. On September 1, 2024, we failed to make payments, and four days later, an article came out stating we had failed to pay. This was just shortly before the launch of the show. But luckily the media reports did not impact the show and reviews.”
Smear campaign
The producers believe there is a smear campaign against them by someone who is disgruntled. The person is trying to sabotage the process.
“We lost focus because everyone was focused on the negative reports. And we lost focus of the show’s success, which is currently streaming in New York. We were focused on making sure that everyone got paid.
“There are certain individuals that defamed our character personally and in business. One in particular who instigated the whole thing was Brandon Auret, who teamed up with Khaya Charlie. It is disappointing that there were no investigations done by any media house. No thoroughness and effectiveness in getting both sides of the story.”
They further alleged that there was no right of reply by all the publications that published a series of articles. This has led them to take necessary steps to hold those involved accountable.
Speaking to Sunday World on Friday, Danielle Naude, from the Official South African Casting Association (OSCASA), stated that hundreds of background actors have not been paid.
“About 500 background actors are still unpaid. So Bakwena Production is not telling the truth when they say they’ve paid everyone,” said Naude.
Owen Mthembu, who also worked for Bakwena Production, supported Naude’s statement: “I saw them on the King David podcast, saying they paid us on time. They’re still lying, they haven’t paid us. When I saw their interview, I sent them a message demanding my money, but they ignored me.” Additional reporting by Zama Nteyi
