Playwright Ismail Mohamed has accused former President Jacob Zuma of giving birth to an “illegitimate child” as a means to control the creative industry.
In a post titled To cry or not to cry, Mohamed claimed that Zuma established the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA) to exert control over the creative arts sector.
“This wasn’t visionary. It was a political strategy. A way of controlling the arts with a tight fist by how funding patronage is leveraged,” Mohamed wrote.
According to Mohamed, in 2009, Zuma held a meeting with artists at the Sandton Convention Centre. At a time when Paul Mashatile was Minister of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC).
Former president’s brain child
“Zuma wanted the establishment of a single unitary organisation that would represent all genres and artists. The single unitary body that Zuma wanted didn’t happen during Mashatile’s tenure. Mashatile understood that freedom of expression and freedom of creativity are constitutional rights. But Zuma wanted a minister who would not hold such a liberal view. In 2014, Jacob Zuma appointed [the late Nathi] Mthethwa as Minister of Arts & Culture.
“For Mthethwa, who had been disgraced by the Marikana Massacre, it was a sideways move that saved his political career. For Zuma, it was simply good news. Because a former police minister would more speedily tighten his belt to control the arts. Two years into his tenure, Mthethwa, launched the CCIFSA as an overall coordinating council to control the arts,” he wrote.
Mohamed said the launch was preceded by Mthethwa appointing an interim council. “Mainly popular music people to lead the sector to a new Damascus. The Interim Council was allocated R5-million, for which to date they have not yet fully accounted. CCIFSA launched their logo, and the allegiance became obvious. Black, green and gold, the colours of the ANC was overstated in its design. This was going to be Zuma’s bulldozer. And Nathi Mthethwa was going to be its driver,” he said.
Feeding trough for politically connected
“Members on the interim Council who until then were hungry artists had by now learned how easy it was to dip their hands into public funds and to eat like pigs. The ANC by now had entrenched this as part of the culture of the politically connected. Artists had learned from the ANC how lucrative it could be to be eating from the same politically connected trough if they sang Jacob Zuma’s praises. And the songs written in Mthethwa’s hymn sheet.
“Zuma’s illegitimate child with a single umbrella over the heads of all artists needed to be born. And no matter what came in its way, Mthethwa was going to be its midwife. Over the years, Mthethwa continued to give patronage to CCIFSA no matter how loudly the growing complaints about its financial irregularities were being told to him,” he said.
He said that he had openly criticised both CCIFSA and Mthethwa.
CCIFSA official denies graft
Tony Kgoroge from CCIFSA refuted Mohamed’s claims.
“The problem was silo culture within our sector. The sector needed one voice. Zuma was engaged, and the meeting was called in Sandton. All agreed that we need a body to represent the interest of our sector. And the DSAC was seen fit to create the conducive space to establish such since they were the custodians of arts, culture, and heritage. If I’m not mistaken, the process was started by the then Minister Mashatile and later Minister Mthethwa.
“CCIFSA had no external political influence. All artists from different walks of life and different political backgrounds joined and participated in all CCIFSA structures. In fact, I found that political will was lacking towards our sector,” said Kgoroge.
All attempts to get a response from Zuma drew a blank.
