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Limukani Ncube
IN the foreword to the government economic blue print to guide activities from 2013 to 2018, President Mugabe spoke of pursuing a new trajectory of accelerated economic growth and wealth creation, to be guided by the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset), which was crafted to “achieve sustainable development and social equity anchored on indigenisation, empowerment and employment creation which will be largely propelled by the judicious exploitation of the country’s abundant human and natural resources”.
“This Results Based Agenda is built around four strategic clusters that will enable Zimbabwe to achieve economic growth and reposition the country as one of the strongest economies in the region and Africa. The four strategic clusters identified are: Food Security and Nutrition; Social Services and Poverty Eradication; Infrastructure and Utilities; and Value Addition and Beneficiation.”
Furthermore, when announcing the 2014 national budget, Finance Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa spoke of a new economy to be created in the country.
There are various spheres of the business world that can contribute to a new economy, and among them is arts and culture. Arts and culture has the potential to meaningfully contribute to job creation, sustainable development and empowerment of indigenous Zimbabweans. In fact, arts practitioners already have their job cut out with the imminent opening of airwaves that will see more radio and television stations being licensed in the country, this being a byproduct of the vigorous pursuit by the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services to comply with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) requirement, which set June 2015 as the deadline for compliance to upgrade from analogue to digital.
Those in the arts industry have to start now to plan for the future which looks exciting. The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Professor Jonathan Moyo, is on record as saying his ministry has started working on expanding the media industry with priority given to upgrading broadcasting services from analogue to digital transmission.
The upgrading exercise is expected to create jobs for hundreds of professionals in the media sector and enhance quality production and vibrancy of the local media industry and the benefits will spill to the arts and culture sector which is expected to provide content.
According to Prof Moyo, with digitilisation, more frequencies will be opened up which can accommodate up to 40 television stations.
“The digitalisation issue is very important for our ministry especially with respect to broadcasting services. We need to switch from the analogue system to the digital platform by 2015. With the coming transformation from VHF to UHF services we will have an increased frequency spectrum and out of this there is a possibility of establishing up to 40 broadcasting services.
“As a country we need up to $30 million to change from analogue to digital and we have no choice but to find this money. Zimbabwe has 24 transmitter sites and these would be increased to 48. There are real business opportunities in this transformation process in that we will be able to have a new and efficient media platform. I am glad this is coming at a time when we are pushing for the indigenisation programme. Between now and June 2015 we will be busy working on this issue,” he said.
In addition, digitalisation will provide opportunities for specialist businesses such as stage designers, technicians and professionals in the arts industry. Professor Moyo’s sentiments were recently echoed by his deputy, Cde Supa Mandiwanzira, when he spoke at the official opening of Inxusa Festival at Amakhosi Cultural Centre in Bulawayo.
Cde Mandiwanzira said the change from analogue to digital would open opportunities and create jobs for many in the broadcasting and arts sectors and urged the arts industry to organise more festivals, saying the 75 percent local content policy would not change. In addition, he said, the government was also considering scraping duty on arts equipment.
“We are already looking at ways to support the arts industry by scrapping duty on imported arts equipment. Artistes must sell and pay tax not to be penalised before they do their work. I know that this brings hope to artistes and I want to promise them that their programmes will expand phenomenally in the next 12 to 18 months,” said Cde Mandiwanzira.
He urged universities and colleges to develop graduates who will produce Zimbabwean stories saying the country should not wait for film makers to come from Britain and other European countries to write stories about Zimbabwe.
“We need films that trace the journey of our leaders. Artistes should be focused on telling our own story. They should also continue producing good work as the market is available,” he said.
In some way, the change from analogue to digital will rewrite the rules of radio and television production in the country. It will also give artistes more room to play a part in contributing to the national economy as well as bettering their lives.
The fresh approach to the creative industry will also push the National Arts Council, Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture to galvanise financial support to local arts content producers so that they take their place in the sun. The corporate sector will have to play ball so that Zimbabwean stories are told, and there is growth of what we can call “Zollywood”.
The creative arts sector has a role to play in the national economy, just like in countries like South Africa and Nigeria where local productions have become big and a source of livelihood to thousands of families.
Media reports say Nollywood, Nigeria’s enormous and growing film industry, is boosting intra-regional tourism and travel in Africa, according to Euromonitor’s 2012 World Travel Market Global Trends Report. Moreover, after India’s Bollywood, Nollywood is the second largest film industry globally in terms of the number of films released. With over 2,000 releases annually, Nollywood beats Hollywood in volume terms.
“Arrivals to Nigeria are expected to record a three percent compound annual growth rate over 2012-2016 mainly due to intra-regional tourism fuelled by expanding African economies. The popularity of Nollywood will be a major growth driver with the leisure sector attracting film fans and business travel boosted by the growing economic importance of the film industry.”
Across the border, the creative industry has been instrumental in telling South African stories. Through exposure in television, South Africans have been reclaiming their lost histories and are beginning to tell their own stories. To show that arts can seriously contribute to the national economic activities, South Africa’s highest grossing film, Leon Schuster’s Schuks Tshabalala, made R37 million at the box office in 2010. The South African film and television industry contributes around R3,5 billion a year to the country’s economy, according to a 2013 study conducted by the National Film and Video Foundation, an agency of the Department of Arts and Culture.
In 1995, when the country first became a viable location venue for movie and television production, the industry employed around 4 000 people. This has grown to around 25 000 people. The success of the industry has been supported by government, which stresses the importance of film in building the country’s heritage by telling its own stories, and has set about providing an “enabling regulatory framework” to encourage the production of local content.
“South African audiences have come to have a healthy demand for good quality local content as has been noted in television trends,” the National Film and Video Foundation points out.
“Some of the most popular television shows are locally produced programmes which regularly enjoy the bulk of the audience share over their international counterparts,” according to Southafrica.info.
An arts expert quoted on a online blog, Richard Russell, said there are three main ways in which people describe the value of the arts: capacity, experience and applications.
“The arts can help build people’s capacity for understanding and navigating the world. They can help people express themselves and communicate with others, offering an alternative ‘language’ to help people understand each other better. The arts can provide a different perspective on life, challenging people’s assumptions and broadening their horizons. Some people describe the arts as inspirational, they stimulate imagination and encourage people to ‘think the unthinkable’.
“For some the arts are both a record of what society was like in the past and a means of exploring how things might be different in the future. The arts can enrich people’s experience of life, providing colour, beauty, enjoyment, relaxation and a source of solace and escape. For some people the arts offer an important emotional outlet. Because the arts can have these effects on people as individuals, they are also seen to have some wider outcomes or applications, such as bringing people together, creating links between different communities and encouraging people to feel a sense of pride and belonging in their local area. The arts are also seen as an aspect of learning, skills and personal development, particularly for children and young people.”
Arts play a crucial role in the British economy as the music, visual and performing arts sectors contribute four billion pounds to the UK economy every year and jobs growth in the cultural sector is predicted to grow by 31 percent by 2020.
It can be argued then, that as well as making our country an exciting and dynamic place to live and work in, the arts and culture are an important driver of the economy.
Online Reporter