Online Reporter
Bruce Ndlovu
Society Reporter
APRIL was expected to be a lucrative month for promoters and artistes in Bulawayo.
Following the usual slow start to the year, as the entertainment industry recovered from the post-holiday slump known as the “January disease”, many anticipated April would mark a turning point.
People looked forward to the month’s line-up of events.
Garden of House, Munch & Sip, Piano Fest and the Bulawayo Shutdown were all major events scheduled, in addition to the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, a business exhibition that consistently fills pubs and other nightspots.
Promoters, artistes and venue owners could have understandably expected significant earnings during this promising festive month.
However, April has ended, leaving key players in Bulawayo’s entertainment scene with more questions than answers.
The underlying tension between the city council and promoters, simmering since August of the previous year when Mayor David Coltart criticised the “unsanctioned” Garden of House event, finally erupted.
Various by-laws were invoked to curtail certain events.
The first casualty was the Shutdown, forcibly relocated from Queens Sports Club. The council asserted that the event violated city by-laws.
Despite initial resistance from the Queens Sports Club management, they eventually conceded as the city enforced its regulations, citing a 1960 law as the reason the event could not be held at that venue.
“The City of Bulawayo has advised the Queens Sports Club leaseholders that no live shows are permitted on the lease premises unless authorised by the council upon application. The city has in the past served previous notices regarding the holding of night parties which disturb the local community.
“The above conditions are in accordance with the notarial agreement of lease which was entered into between the City of Bulawayo and Queens Sports Club on September 1, 1960,” stated town clerk Christopher Dube in a notice.
The same 1960 law was applied to Munch & Sip.
Organisers were instructed to conclude proceedings by 6pm at the Harry Allen Golf Course. This announcement, made on the eve of the show, was a significant setback for the organisers.
A source revealed that they had invested as much as US$20 000 in the event. With their operating hours drastically reduced, they had little hope of recovering their investment, especially since the event typically peaks later in the evening.
The predicament faced by the organisers of these two events is becoming increasingly familiar to promoters in the city, who are now finding their options limited as most prime venues are being declared off-limits.
In 2017, the Bulawayo City Council had already banned prominent artistes like Jah Prayzah, Winky D and Alick Macheso from hosting shows at the Amphitheatre following “noise” complaints from residents.
Other artistes were restricted to performing at the venue until 10pm.
Following the public disagreement between Councillor Coltart and various artistes and promoters last year after the Garden of House controversy, some artistes have expressed the feeling that there are classist and even racist undertones to some of the opposition against events perceived as too loud.
Dalubuhle Sibanda of Umahlekisa Entertainment acknowledged the ongoing accusations and counter-accusations but emphasised the urgent need for dialogue to resolve the issue.
“This is a city of indabas. This is the city in which people sit down, talk and resolve issues and I think we need that at the moment. We cannot ignore the fact that the gig economy is growing in leaps and bounds.
“The likes of Munch and Sip, Shutdown, Piano Fest and Garden of House are generating a lot for the city. Creatives, food and merchandising stall owners are keeping people in the city fed, and we cannot ignore that. It is tackling the unemployment issues and making sure that it is also supplementing incomes during tough times,” he said.
Sibanda noted that while there were suggestions to move events away from venues near the central business district (CBD) and residential areas, such alternatives presented their own financial disadvantages.
“Every house has rules and we have to toe the line. The only thing we can do is look at how we can negotiate around the rules. We still have other options. We can look to do daytime shows, and we can look for venues outside the city.
“These bring their fair share of disadvantages, like transport and network issues. However, we need alternatives. I feel like this is an opportunity for us to think outside the box and think of strategies that allow us to exist in an environment that is getting harder to operate in,” he said.
Raisedon Baya, director of the Intwasa Festival koBulawayo, pointed out that while there were calls for event organisers to consider venues in townships around the city, these places were often ill-equipped to host such events.
“Most of the venues in the townships are dilapidated and when you go in, you are fixing a lot of things. For theatre, for example, there are no lights in most of the venues. The stages are bad, and the ambience was not created for performances.
“Most of the venues were created for meetings, with McDonald’s Hall being the exception. So, when we go to these places, we start shaping them in a way that audiences would appreciate. From there, we can talk about audience building because once we are there, we have to show people that we need their support,” he said.
Baya also highlighted the disunity among creatives and promoters in the city as a contributing factor to the current challenges.
“We need to address these issues, but the problem is that we are not working together. Everyone is doing their own thing. Right now, it looks like an issue that affected Munch and Sip and the Shutdown only, but there will come a time when we also need those venues and we are going to be treated the same. Yet we were nowhere near the situation when it was time to help solve the problem,” he said.
Following accusations of classism against the city council, with some questioning why events in townships were permitted despite causing similar disturbances to residents, Baya suggested that ratepayers in the eastern part of the city seemed more aware of their rights.
“Residents within or near the CBD are ‘more educated’ about their rights, so they are aware of the by-laws and they will complain when they feel they need to. The same rules apply in the townships, but rarely will people make a complaint.
“The same applies to churches that have crusades in the townships. People do not complain about the noise that they make, but the situation is different in the eastern suburbs.
“I think we have to know the by-laws, for example, if we were to have a show at the Amphitheatre, we would need to know how long it would last.
‘‘With music shows, some go on until the early hours of the morning, so for some, it means it is a night when they will not get any sleep.
“If it is a one-off, it is something that they might stomach, but if it is regular, it becomes a problem. It is not that they are against the arts. They are also considering their comfort as ratepayers,” he said.
Online Reporter