Thami AkaMbongo Manzana: Why the Minister’s meeting with DSAC and select ‘leaders’ failed the Cultural and Creative Sector.

There is a growing sense of disillusionment among South Africa’s creative practitioners – and rightfully so. A recent high-level meeting convened by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, was anticipated to be a turning point for the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI). It was expected to open a new chapter, a reset, a bold departure from years of mismanagement and neglect. Instead, it felt like a betrayal dressed in diplomacy.

For many of us who have tirelessly worked at grassroots levels – who’ve kept our theatres alive, our music playing, our poetry burning, our festivals running – the meeting was a chilling reminder that change remains cosmetic. A reset is impossible when you rely on the very same hands that broke the machine in the first place.

A Sector in Pain, Yet Again Ignored

The South African CCI sector has long been plagued by inefficiencies, gatekeeping, politicisation, and lack of meaningful inclusion. Whether it’s funding disparities, absence of real infrastructure, policy gaps, or the systematic sidelining of authentic sector voices – the damage is deep and multi-layered.

Most recently, the Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) debacle has become symbolic of everything wrong with the DSAC’s approach. Artists across the country applied, were shortlisted, and many were even informally informed of outcomes. Then – nothing. No public announcement. No funding. No clarity. No accountability. Just cold administrative silence.

In a truly democratic and ethically run system, the MGE matter should have been a centrepiece of any meeting aimed at resetting the sector. But it wasn’t even tabled.

Why?

The Same Cast, Same Script, Same Tragedy Instead of engaging with a broad spectrum of verified, mandated, and practicing sector representatives, the Minister and his senior DSAC officials extended invitations to a familiar cast of players – most of whom are known to have presided over years of confusion, mismanagement, and broken trust.

Worse, many of these individuals and organisations operate without mandates. No elections. No sector-wide consultations. No verifiable constituencies. Just claims to leadership – uncontested because they are protected by the very system that should be holding them to account.

This is not democratic. This is not transparent. And it is certainly not transformational.

The senior DSAC management, who helped orchestrate the failures of the MGE, CCIFSA, and other discredited mechanisms, were the same ones facilitating this meeting. It is a case of the foxes designing the new rules for the henhouse.

The Minister’s Inconsistency Undermines Trust Earlier this year, Minister McKenzie boldly labelled CCIFSA and similar structures as “criminal organisations.” That statement resonated deeply with us. It gave us hope. It suggested a new era – one where those who had corrupted the system would finally be held accountable.

But how can the same Minister now meet with and legitimise those very individuals without consequence? How do we reconcile the contradiction between the Minister’s public statements and his actual engagements?

This inconsistency erodes trust – not just in the Minister, but in the entire process. It signals that our struggles, pain, and demands for justice are negotiable. That those who have failed upward will continue to do so. That accountability is a soundbite, not a principle.

A Legacy of Exclusion and Power Games

It must be said plainly: representation without a mandate is a form of cultural authoritarianism. It turns our vibrant, diverse sector into a playground of power games. It allows opportunists to monopolise space, funding, and influence – while thousands of practitioners across South Africa remain unsupported, invisible, and voiceless.

The so-called “sector leaders” at the meeting are not representative of the lived experiences of dancers in Mafikeng, muralists in Mamelodi, playwrights in Gqeberha, jazz musicians in Durban, or crafters in Polokwane. They are representatives of status, not service.

What was needed was a new approach to sector engagement – rooted in transparency, fairness, and grassroots inclusion. Instead, we got more of the same.

What Should Have Been Done?

A meeting with the Minister should have:

Addressed the MGE collapse publicly and transparently.

Commenced a national listening process that invites input from real practitioners across all nine provinces and sub-sectors.

Committed to disbanding unmandated structures, and preparing a truly democratic, interim coordinating mechanism with short-term oversight.

Announced an independent forensic investigation into DSAC programme failures, especially those involving funding and procurement.

Set timelines for a National Sector Indaba designed by the sector – not for the sector.

Instead, we got handshakes and rehearsed speeches, while the real work remains undone.

What Happens When Artists Lose Faith?

The risk of this continued dysfunction is immense. When artists lose faith in public institutions, they withdraw. They retreat into survival mode. The sector becomes fragmented, cynical, and apolitical – precisely the opposite of what is needed in a country that should be mobilising its creative capital for social cohesion, nation-building, and innovation.

Furthermore, if the Minister continues to recycle broken tools, he will soon realise that no amount of charm, intention, or personal charisma can fix a sector whose foundation is cracked.

It is time to face the hard truth: the sector does not need new promises; it needs new principles.

Conclusion: This Was Not the Reset We Needed Minister McKenzie has often spoken about doing things differently, about cleaning house, about returning the Department to its core purpose. But this meeting, facilitated by the very architects of our sector’s dysfunction, was a clear signal that the house is not being cleaned – it is being redecorated.

The creative sector is not blind. We see what’s happening. And while many will continue to create, to organise, and to heal through their art, we also carry wounds. Wounds of broken trust, missed opportunities, and unkept promises.

There’s still time for the Minister to lead a real transformation – but only if he stops entertaining the illusion of progress and starts confronting the machinery of misrepresentation.

Real change will require discomfort, courage, and humility.

The sector deserves nothing less.

Thami AkaMbongo Manzana
akambongo@gmail.com
AkaMbongo Foundation Pty Ltd
http://www.akambongo.co.za

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Creative Disclaimer:

This piece is penned by Thami akaMbongo Manzana in his personal capacity – as an artist, thinker, and observer of life.

The reflections, ideas, and expressions shared here are entirely his own and are not meant to represent the views or positions of any organization, structure, or association he may be part of.

These are personal thoughts flowing from the heart, mind, and lived experience – meant to provoke thought, inspire dialogue, and spark the imagination.