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Artistes want to meet with Kirsty Coventry

Standard Style
Arts stakeholders are seeking to meet newly-appointed Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation minister Kirsty Coventry to present recommendations from recent consultative meetings organised by Africa Innovation Trust (AIT) in a bid to reinvigorate the slowly sinking sector.

Arts stakeholders are seeking to meet newly-appointed Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation minister Kirsty Coventry to present recommendations from recent consultative meetings organised by Africa Innovation Trust (AIT) in a bid to reinvigorate the slowly sinking sector.

by Kennedy Nyavaya

The efforts to meet Coventry come in the wake of allegations that her predecessor Kazembe Kazembe fast-tracked the launch of an arts and culture policy that the sector is not happy with. Artistes say formulation of the new policy, which was done during Kazembe’s seven-month stint, did not have their input and lacks the depth required to enable it to address many issues besetting creatives.

The former athlete is now confronted with the artistes’ discontent, among other challenges that her multi-pronged portfolio must deal with.

In an interview with The Standard Style on the Friday, co-ordinator of the meetings, dubbed “Cabinet Watch”, Benjamin Nyandoro, said they were hoping to meet the minister along with the new permanent secretary Thokozile Chitepo this week. Efforts to have the meetings earlier failed because the minister was still moving offices and was also grappling with other critical issues.

“We sent a request to meet the minister and officials at the ministry said they were keen to meet us but were still too busy with other engagements including moving offices this week. So we decided to wait and let them settle,” said Nyandoro.

“We could have met the minister informally, but we want to set up a formal meeting where we will meet her and the new permanent secretary and other principals in the arts department to present artistes’ perspective.”

According to Nyandoro, the lobby document is an outcome from two consultative meetings where the issue of a minister with “a listening ear” was emphasised.

Speaking during the stakeholders’ meeting, which was attended by artistes, administrators and the media recently, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Music Association (ZIMU) Edith WeUtonga said the sector had come together and agreed to update Coventry on the status quo.

“We are not going to go there (to the ministry) as individual associations, but what we have in this document what most of the disciplines feel and that is what we are going to present as a unit,” said Weutonga.

Weutonga, who confirmed being part of the minority who received the document from Kazembe’s era, said the arts community’s biggest source of disquiet was that consultations were done nicodemously without the full engagement of artistes.

“Who are the players that were consulted? Where are they and are they named or it is just a document that if you happen to be in the ministry corridors, you would see people trying to put together?” she queried.

“It did not engage the people that matter and if we are to be fair, there is need to revisit it and engage them (artistes).”

Music critic and academic Fred Zindi described the engagement as pertinent in the mapping of a substantive policy framework.

“It is important for us to have dialogue with the minister so that we draft a new arts and culture policy document (because) as far as I am concerned, there is no policy document,” he said.

Veteran actor and film director Stephen Chigorimbo also weighed in saying the lack of substantive research had resulted in government institutions making rash decisions that prejudiced the sector.

“We have been taking arts and culture for granted because it is so much part of our daily life, but when we say Zimbabwe is open for business, it includes the arts and culture business,” said Chigorimbo.

“We are calling unto powers-that-be to say there is need for real research into what constitutes arts and culture so that it is incorporated into the ministry and department.” Nyandoro said the consultations were an inclusive process aimed at laying out a roadmap towards turning the sector into a full-scale industry.

“I think the emphasis is not on the quantitative representation, but the qualitative nature of the consultations made, so we believe that everyone has participated through representation,” he said.

Engagement with government is the second phase of the Cabinet Watch series and the third phase will involve monitoring, implementation and performance.