Afropop chanteuse Thandiswa Mazwai’s selection by the organisers of the controversy-prone Mapungubwe Festival as the headliner of the annual event has heightened tensions between the Limpopo Artists Movement (LAM) and the Limpopo Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
In a media statement, outspoken LAM chairperson Mphoza Mashabela said Mazwai’s selection was an insult and affront to the music legends of the province, who have not only placed their names on the pantheon with their music but also placed the province, which is a cauldron of different cultures, on the international map.
Mashabela has implored the department to reverse its incendiary decision and select one of the province’s revered musicians to be the star attraction of the annual carnival billed for Saturday, December 13. He said LAM would boycott the festival if the department did not accede to their request.
Known for his candour, Mashabela said the faux pas would have been avoided had the
department not barred them from the festival’s media launch and its planning session.
“We have lost hope in the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture in the province after we were sidelined from attending the Mapungubwe Festival media launch.
As stakeholders, we expected the department and the service provider to invite us before the launch and unpack the Mapungubwe Festival details before the media launch.
We deserve the opportunity to form part of the engagement, because now they have taken Thandiswa Mazwai to be the headliner of the Mapungubwe Festival, while we have Limpopo legends like Caiphus Semenya, Selaelo Selota, Bra Don Laka and Dr Sello Galane, to name a few, to be the ones selling the festival.
“Mapungubwe is about our heritage. We believe our Limpopo jazz legends should be the ones to carry the Mapungubwe Festival flag. We love Thandiswa Mazwai, and we don’t have a problem with her, but she must come as a guest,” he stated.
Mashabela said that last year they had warned the department not to use artists from Gauteng as headliners, but that appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
“We lost trust in the department and its service provider; we are relieved his three-year contract came to an end with this festival. The department is also interfering with the line-up. You can’t be a player and referee at the same time,” he wrote.
Mashabela also said they would have preferred the organizers to include trailblazing artists with burgeoning careers in the line-up of new artists so that they could showcase their talent at the festival.
“As LAM, we are creating opportunities for the best newcomers as well. Let’s give new artists the opportunity to be part of the Mapungubwe Festival,” he stated.
Mashabela said they had requested a meeting with the department, but the department ignored them.
“They are buying time to book their favourite artists, so we took a resolution to pay them a visit on Tuesday, 14 October. These people don’t respect stakeholders,” he stated.
Mashabela also lamented that Limpopo artists continue to be treated like adjuncts and Cinderellas by their leaders.
“Last year, they included one of our gospel artists, Peter Mabula, on the poster without booking him. When we approached them, their service provider said it was a mistake.
Next year, we want a service provider with respect for stakeholders.
“We want the department to give other artists an opportunity, or else we will have no choice but to boycott the Mapungubwe Festival until they listen to us. We can’t be treated like guests in our province.
We have been waiting for almost four weeks for a meeting date, and time is running out,” he said.
Departmental spokesperson Jermina Kaka said as far as they are concerned the line up of artists for the festival has not been finalised.
She said they will finalise the line up after consulting with all the stakeholders. This despite a poster circulating on social media depicting Mazwai as the headliner of the event.
Mazwai had not responded to our questions at the time of going to print.
