Legendary singer and songwriter Simphiwe Dana has taken to her Twitter account to react to the court order, stating that artists are occupying the NAC offices unlawfully.
Simphiwe Dana and many other South African artists have taken to their social media platforms to express their grievances towards this step taken by the National Art and Culture Council.
“I can understand businesses abandoning the arts. They are going through a lot too, during this Covid. I fail to understand government doing the same. As their mandate is different. And I’m talking about policy, not handouts… The truth of it is that our government doesn’t understand if there is any importance to the arts. Dear @CyrilRamaphosa, you are such a disappointment when it comes to this,” Simphiwe tweeted.
The NAC on Friday served artists who have been staging a sit-in outside their offices with a court eviction order.
Part of the eviction order states that: “should the artists fail to exit premises the NAC is given authority to co-opt any relevant body to assist in the executing the order, including but not limited to the South African Police Service to provide the necessary assistance in the execution of the order.”
Actress and Poet Lebo Mashile also weighed in on the issue in a lengthy Twitter thread. Lebo revealed that these artists have been staging their protest peacefully and all that they are asking for is help.
“My worst fear is state violence. We speak about our fears of another Marikana daily. You can help prevent this by amplifying this cause. Share what is happening widely, locally, and internationally. There are artists occupying spaces in Joburg, Bloem, and NorthWest PEACEFULLY. Abahlali base NAC has chosen to stay in the building. They are refusing to be moved. You can help by amplifying this cause, by following @im4thearts on FB, by donating funds, data, toiletries, food, or whatever skills you are willing to share. Nothing is too little,” she wrote.
These group of artists are not willing to back down from their protest until they get answers from NAC about the R300 million that the President’s Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) had allocated for them.
The funds have disappeared according to reports but Minister Nathi Mthethwa recently stated in a press briefing that the money he is taking action against those responsible for the mismanagement of funds.
Source: www.Ghgossip.com
