Programme Director

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in absentia;

Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Tasneem Motara in absentia;

Comrade TK Nciza representing the governing party, the ANC;

Other members of political parties;

Chair, CEO and entire Leadership of Recording Industry of South Africa;

PRASA Represented by Ms Zipho Mlambo;

SABC Head of TV David Makubyane;

Stakeholders and partners;

Creative Industry;

Team Tourism KZN;

Members of the media;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Good Morning

First and foremost, let me express my appreciation to the Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and his provincial executive council for the support.

As KwaZulu-Natal our attitude is that our economy is intertwined with that of  different Provinces. Developments in KwaZulu-Natal are geared to support growth in several provinces which will succeed because our province played a part in their growth and success.

The failure of Gauteng province’s economy will affect us as well.

Similarly, the growth of our province is dependent on economic activities of not only other provinces such as Gauteng but of various neighbouring states and trading friends of South Africa.

We therefore, we wish to pay tribute to my counterpart, Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Tasneem Motara. We thank you for the ongoing support and commitment to work with us moving forward.

Programme Director, my intention is not to make a long speech.

We bring warm wishes from more than 11, 2 million  citizens from the Zulu Kingdom. The majority of people back home are excited that we are here for this historic announcement.

We are humbled by the fact that we will host SAMA Awards over the next three years.

We flatter ourselves to believe that this is because KZN and the eThekwini Municipality in particular, have in the past proved to be worthy and competent hosts of a number of national, continental and international events of diverse interests.

We are overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response and interest that has been shown by all creative industry. We have no doubt that the entire tourism industry and other sectors of our economy will be stimulated.

We are looking forward to hosting thousands of music lovers and tourists who will visit our province ahead of SAMA Awards and during the event itself.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as the ANC  government we remain  concerned about the plight of artists representing different music genres and those in the film industry.

The outbreak of COVID-19 affected many artists because of lockdown regulations which restricted live performances. We commit to work with industry role-players and the creative industry to rebuild the entertainment industry.

As we move forward we offer to work with the following role-players;-

1.            KwaZulu-Natal United Music Industry Association;

2.            Cultural and Creative Industry Federation of South Africa;

3.         South African Music Industry Council.

The reality is that many of our artists are still relying on the traditional ways of making money. These include bookings for live performances, recording contracts, licensing, marketing and distribution of their work in the country and worldwide.

Together with  the leadership of Recording Industry of South Africa, the ANC led provincial government will spearhead concrete interventions that will benefit artists and reposition KZN as the cradle of creativity.

We commit to double our efforts to ensure that the creative economy is stimulated for the benefit of young people in the townships and rural areas. Through SAMA Awards, they will have the opportunity to stage side events and activations in Shisanyamas, Taverns and other entertainment spots.

We state this because we do that want artists in the culture and creative industry to be left out as we rebuild our economy. In addition, we want to increase the number of artists in the creative industry in the database of service providers of government.

There should be no middle man between government and our artists. We are also saying, all spheres of government must use their procurement system to sustain the creative industry.

In conclusion, as we celebrate the creative talent through SAMA Awards, let us remember those who departed who are too many to mention.

They gave us hope over the past 30 years of our freedom and democracy.

As we start the next 30 years of our freedom and democracy, we therefore have a collective responsibility as a nation to protect and promote our heroes and heroine in the creative industry.

It is it is through them that the world get to know who are as people. We are a nation that is endowed with spectacular cultures that make South Africa a world in one.

Hashtag KZN Has It All

Hashtag SAMA in KZN

Hashtag KZN Summer

I thank you