Daily Sun (August 27 2014) - LET US use a little bit of our power! Let's block the gates and the doors until these actors are taken back!
LET US MAKE SURE NO ONE GOES TO THE SET OF GENERATIONS TO REPLACE YOU!
Legendary actor John Kani said this in support of the actors who were fired from the soapie.
Speaking at a media briefing called by Generations actors, Kani said he was shocked the soapie's actors were earning so little in this day and age.
There were tears of anger as some actors hit back at what they described as their horrible treatment from executive producer Mfundi Vundla and the SABC over the past few days.
Patrick Shai (Patrick) said they kept quiet so the SABC and Vundla could speak. "The SABC will never be the same again, whether they take us back or not. Our cause is not fuelled by greed. I can buy dog food with the money Mfundi pays me and nothing else. "Don't be surprised if we come and ask to sweep your yard because we are unemployed."
Generations actors earn on average about R55 000 per month before deductions. City Press reported on Sunday that some of the actors earned R80 000 per month.
"We felt betrayed. Mfundi went to the media and exposed us as peasants," said Zikhona Sodlaka (Priska).
Sophie Ndaba (Queen) said: "We were dismissed like small children. I still don't know why I was fired."Mfundi created Queen. I wouldn't want to destroy someone that did that but what is wrong is wrong. "We sell out newspapers. I'm a star, I don't apologise for it. Why can't we get a piece of this industry?"
Zikhona Sodlaka said Vundla only worked for his fellow Generations creators, Elsje and Friedrich Stark. She said there were separate rooms for black actors and white actors. Sodlaka burst into tears when she spoke about the way Vundla talked about her fellow actors.
Lead actor Menzi Ngubane (Sibusiso) said Vundla knows the truth about the money he claims he paid for him while he was sick in hospital. Menzi said: "He never cared that I was in a public hospital. I was forced to do about six to eight scenes a day, weak as I was." The actors may be back on set today if their meeting with the SABC goes well.
For the first time, the actors sat round the same table as the management of SABC, led by Chief Operations Officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, at the offices of the Minister of Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa on Monday. The spokesman for the ministry, Sandile Memela, told Daily Sun the minister managed to get the SABC and the actors to commit themselves to meet to discuss going back to work.
Vundla said he watched the press conference. "The lies being told there broke my heart. They wrote an open letter saying they get paid peanuts and City Press comes up with figures revealing salaries," he said."For Sophie Ndaba to compare herself to Charlize Theron is wrong. This is not Hollywood." Speaking about Kani's statement that the Generations Actors Guild should not let just anyone walk on set, he said: "That's a law enforcement issue that I can't say anything about." He said it was people like himself and Duma Ka Ndlovu, executive producer of Muvhango, who were trying to develop skills. "Generations has been around for more than 20 years. For new cast members to think they have built Generations is wrong."
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