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11 months ago
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KZN MEC Siboniso Duma announced the cancellation of the SAMAs.
Darren Stewart /Gallo Images
The "polarising" SA Music Awards for 2023 have been called off, the KwaZulu-Natal government has confirmed.
The cancellation comes after News24 exclusively disclosed that President Cyril Ramaphosa had advised Economic Development and Tourism Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma against hosting the R20-million event.
Duma made the announcement at a media briefing on Wednesday, but stressed that this didn't mean the three-year sponsorship deal had been cancelled.
He added that when unemployed people heard the government would be spending R20 million on an awards show, it was "polarising".
READ | MEC 'seeking guidance' as Ramaphosa quietly advises against hosting SAMAs
News24 reported on Tuesday that Ramaphosa had quietly told Duma about his discomfort over the SAMAs.
Responding to a News24 query on Monday, Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya initially said the president "may have" advised Duma on the SAMAs.
Updating his response to a media query late on Tuesday, Magwenya said:
MECs report to premiers. The president does not get involved in the day to day running of provincial departments. However, the president did advise MEC Duma against such spending in the interest of maintaining fiscal discipline.
Duma said he had "consulted" widely about the SAMA event, which News24 also broke.
He said he had instructed his department's senior officials to hold discussions with the recording industry and report back to him.
"We will also report to the KwaZulu-Natal Executive council as the hosting of the SAMA[s] was a collective decision," Duma added.
"We reiterate the point that our hearts are with artists whose lives were destroyed by the outbreak of Covid-19. The SAMA awards was their hope and the source of income ahead of the festive season."
He was at pains to say that securing approval from the provincial treasury had been above board.
"The R28 million and other figures being thrown around, are part of a campaign of disinformation. This is aimed at sowing confusion," Duma said, in an apparent response to ActionSA provincial chairperson Zwakele Mncwango, who insisted that the provincial government wanted to fork out R28 million.
Duma added that the DA and ActionSA had used the matter to score political points.
Mncwango, who had gone as far as writing an open letter to Ramaphosa, welcomed the decision to cancel the SAMAs and thanked Duma "for listening".
"This is a victory for KwaZulu-Natal," he said.
"It was through pressure from the public and the media that the provincial government has changed its mind."
