Music Producer, Chicco Twala has applauded the Minister Sports Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie and the Portfolio Committee of Sports, Arts and Culture for initiating forensic investigation against Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA).
Twala told Sunday World that, a forensic investigation is welcomed and long overdue.
“Kudos to McKenzie and the Portfolio Committee of Sports, Arts and Culture. The industry needs this. And if CCIFSA is innocent, they have nothing to be worried about. I welcome this call, it’s what the industry needs. In fact it should’ve happened a long time ago.
Too much corruption in the industry
“McKenzie is moving in the right direction, and he must be supported on this. I fully agree with him. CCIFSA has been getting monies, but as the industry, we don’t know how they spent those monies. They’ve never been vocal on issues that affect artists. I seriously don’t know what they’ve been doing except chasing positions,” said Twala.
“In fact, we must all be subjected to forensic investigation, not just CCIFSA. Corruption and maladministration has destroyed our industry. And the majority of artists have become victims, all because of few greedy people. I’m glad McKenzie is cleaning up the industry,” he continued.
A seasoned actor, Obed Baloyi, also thanked McKenzie for initiating a forensic investigation.
“Forensic Investigation is music to my ears. I know monies have been paid to certain people to uplift the industry [but] we never benefited. There’s too much corruption in our sector and I’m hoping this is not just lip service. I’d like to see results from this forensic investigation,” said Baloyi.
The forensic investigation was initiated by the Portfolio Committee two weeks ago. This after they [CCIFSA] presented a dubious report in Parliament.
Minister said CCIFSA never accounted to its expenditures
Last week, McKenzie announced that he will be instituting a forensic investigation against CCIFSA.
“CCIFSA has been getting money from the department for years but they never reported back. They never told us what they were doing with that money. This is the first time that CCIFSA has not received a cent. And it will not receive a cent from the department,” he said at the time.
“Tomorrow morning at 10:00 I will be instituting a forensic investigation. I will inquire what happened with all these monies that CCIFA received. Because those monies were meant for the artists. This is to show you that we are working on that issue,” he said.
Today, Sunday World can reveal that the forensic investigation has not been instituted.
Spokesperson for the department, Zimasa Velaphi said: “The forensic investigation has not been instituted. There is an ongoing internal communications regarding CCIFSA matters.”
