Mayibuye takeover a threat to young performing artists
29 April 2021
Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English & Afrikaans from Veronica van Dyk, MP.
The future of 13 teachers and 600 Northern Cape students in the performing arts, hangs in the balance amidst the hijacking of the Mayibuye Academies of Music and Dance in Kimberley.
The takeover comes just weeks after a newly formed Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) staged an illegal sit-in at the office of the MEC of Sport, Arts and Culture, Desery Fienies. They were subsequently appointed as the replacement service provider to take over the established art and music programs of 13 teachers, who were operative since 2009 at the Mayibuye Cultural Center, including the satellite centers in Philipstown and Kuruman.
According to allegations on social media, the Northern Cape Theatre Practitioners Forum was only registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) on 7 April 2021, in order to obtain funding, reportedly of R4,1 million. It is further alleged that they have no track record and are also not representatives of the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CIFFSA).