The conflict between the Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA) and Gayton McKenzie, the Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, has begun.
This comes after McKenzie accused CCIFSA of being a corrupt organisation in public.
“Artists are exploiting each other. They get millions from the government, but there’s no money when artists die,” McKenzie blasted CCIFSA during the funeral services for Doc Shebeleza and Winnie Khumalo at the weekend.
He even threatened to release the statements on social media to prove his claim.
These accusations seem to have offended the CCIFSA, and as a result, Luzuko Nkohli, the organisation’s national coordinator, released a statement defending it.
Nkohli emphasised in the statement that CCIFSA is, in reality, a private organisation in charge of its own operations.
Additionally, Nkohli conveyed his dissatisfaction with McKenzie’s statements.
CCIFSA calls for meaningful dialogue
He said: “His public utterances, which include amongst others allegations of corruption and money laundering against CCIFSA, reflect a lack of engagement and dialogue with our federation.
“Our organisation has always been open to collaboration, and we look forward to a constructive relationship with the minister’s office.
“We have participated in all sector engagements organised by the minister, and at no stage we ever attacked the minister in public.
“This is despite the fact that we do have our own differences with the minister’s approach on a certain issue, but we don’t believe that raising those issues on public platforms will take us anywhere.
“The decision to utilise public platforms to continuously attack our organisation without first reaching out for clarification or discourse is very alarming, to say the least.”
McKenzie has unrestricted access to the organization’s leadership, he said.
“We strongly feel that it is essential for leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue rather than resorting to media statements that can misrepresent facts and escalate unnecessary tensions,” said Nkohli.
“Furthermore, we find it particularly disheartening that the minister has suggested CCIFSA should contribute to funerals while simultaneously disregarding the operational nature of the funding provided to us.
“The financial support given to CCIFSA is explicitly allocated for operational matters, and it is the government’s norm to continue this funding upon receipt of detailed reports as mandated by our memorandum of agreement with the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture.”
Report riddled with false information
Nkohli urged McKenzie to reflect on the implications of his statements and to engage with CCIFSA directly to address any concerns or questions he may have.
“CCIFSA remains committed to transparency, accountability, and the advancement of the cultural and creative industries in South Africa,” he said.
Parliament called on CCIFSA to account for all of the money received in 2024, but the organisation utterly failed.
There were alleged inconsistencies and false information in its report. Because of this, Cynthia Khumalo, the director-general in the department, declined to be linked to the CCIFSA report.
Joe McGluwa, the chairperson of the arts and culture portfolio committee, went so far as to emphasise the necessity of conducting a forensic investigation across several provinces.
“I have a big appetite for that,” McGluwa said in one of the parliamentary sittings.
