CWUSA STATEMENT ON COMMENTS BY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE

The CREATIVE WORKERS UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA (CWUSA) notes the deplorable comments attributed to the Minister of Arts & Culture Lulu Xingwana pertaining to Cwusa call to boycott the kick off concert.

She has been quoted appeasing FIFA saying, ‘we believe that FIFA and the Local Organising Committee have gone a long way towards ensuring that a number of our local artists and African artists participate and are able to showcase their talent to the world. We also do not support a boycott against the 2010 World Cup concert because we believe that all South Africans should embrace it".

We are not surprised or shaken by Xingwana's diatribe since her comments are meant to hegemonize the American culture and ethos in South Africa and the continent through the arts. Xingwana's comments should be understood and located within the context of reinforcing the Eurocentric culture and reversing working class culture as advanced by our revolutionary movement since the days of illegality. We cannot go back to voluntary colonialism fostered by Xingwana.

The comments by Xingwana are not only diabolic, but are disorderly given the strategic position she occupies in the State, on behalf of the working class and the poor. Both FIFA and the LOC have renegaded on their commitments to include a BEE component company into the organizing of the concert, the exclusion of the African rhythm such as Maskandi, uMbhaqanga, Shangaan, Boere music, isicathamiya etc. The question that needs to be asked is where are African roots and legacy in all this?

We are aware that Xingwana is part of an elitist agenda to undermine African and South African artists and co-opted by FIFA who are finding it difficult to progressively include more artists, not because it is not viable and possible, but because economic broadcasting interests are entrenched amongst FIFA and LOC ruling oligarchy.

As CWUSA we reiterate our call to the general public to boycott the kick-off celebrations in solidarity with the arts community whose agreements were dishonoured by the LOC. We calling on our people to support this boycott not out of excitement or sabotaging the World Cup as our opponents suggest. But it is out of our concrete struggles to make sure that during this World Cup genre, such as uMbhaqanga, Maskandi, Sicathamiya are part of the celebrations consistent with the African rhythm.

Our opposition to the World Cup kick-off celebrations are bigger than the artist line-up. Our demands are known by Xingwana and her nemesis is misleading the public;

·    No guarantee that artists will perform as curtain-raisers, or will they be accommodated on prime time where more than 200 broadcasters will be televising the event;

·    The BEE component agreed upon was discarded, particularly SAMPA;

·     The structured participation of artists in Fan Parks and Public Viewing areas is not in place;

·    No consultation process took place on the artists line-up and performances;

·    The FIFA congress was offered to be part of the package for artists to showcase their artistic talent and no progress has been done on this;

·    Guiding principles of selecting the artists line-up was ignored, namely geographic spread, gender, age and race;

·    A Los Angeles based event company Control Room was appointed by FIFA to manage the show and Control Room's preferred partner is a company owned by Hazel Feldman who rejected the liberation movements call for a cultural boycott in South Africa during the days of apartheid regime.

This is what we are mainly fighting and opposed to as cultural workers in our country. We will not be quiet when we are deliberately being undermined.

Statement issued by Mabutho ‘Kid' Sithole, CWUSA President, June 3 2010

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