Online Reporter
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
THIS week, two announcements from overseas would have shaken those Zimbabwean artistes that are in tune with world events.
First, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced drastic cuts to Britain’s international aid budget to help pay for a major increase in defence spending.
The British Prime Minister confirmed that the rise — about £13,4bn more every year from 2027 — would be paid for by a “painful choice” to cut the aid budget, from 0,5 percent to 0,3 percent of the country’s GDP.
Not long afterwards, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Reinette Klever announced spending cuts of €2,4 billion on development aid abroad.
Under the new policy, funding for various programmes will be terminated, in areas such as gender equality, vocational and higher education, sport and culture.
The cuts come after the American government led by Donald Trump had also put the brakes on Usaid, putting a pause on its activities or winding down some operations outright.
For those that do not follow world events, the lives of artistes in places like Bulawayo might seem far removed from announcements made at 10 Downing Street or The Hague.
However, those with their finger on the pulse of worldwide trends would know that such cuts might signal a downturn in arts activities in Zimbabwe and other African countries.
The ripple effects of the cuts have already been felt by a sector that has over the years become increasingly dependent on donor support, much to the dismay of arts gurus like the late Cont Mhlanga.
The Amakhosi founder revealed in interviews before his passing in 2022 that since the turn of the century, an increasingly donor-supported sector had lost its identity and cutting edge.
With the doom and gloom surrounding the arts due to the latest cuts, some have argued that this might give the sector a chance to hit reset and forge ahead in a new direction.
In an interview with Sunday Life, Inkululeko Yabatsha School of Arts (Iyasa) founder Nkululeko Dube, said that the sector was now in a position that it had never been before.
“We are swimming in uncharted waters. America and some other European nations’ decision to freeze financial aid to Africa will undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences for the creative sector, which has long relied on grants and funding from international organisations, including Usaid. This move threatens the very existence of many networks and projects that have been built around this assistance, unfortunately.
“The creative sector plays a vital role in fostering relationships and building connections among communities and individuals worldwide. Culture and the arts have become essential components of international relations and cultural exchange, transcending political considerations,” Dube said.
The Iyasa founder said that latest cuts were particularly harsh as the sector was finally finding its feet after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s a pity that we find ourselves in this ‘one man for himself and God for us all’ quandary. The artistes and other cultural players will feel the pinch. Just as we thought the Covid-19 effects on the cultural sectors were almost behind us, we face another crisis that will affect not only the creatives but the consumers of creative and cultural products and projects. It’s a terrible blow. In turbulent times like these, arts and culture are important to bring people together and to ensure that people see and live beyond politics,” he said.
Despite his concerns, Dube said it was time for creatives in Africa to adopt innovative strategies to survive the coming storm.
“To mitigate the impact of this policy, it’s crucial to explore alternative solutions. As nations increasingly prioritise their interests, African countries need to adopt a similar approach and seek new funding opportunities. We can only survive by adopting a proactive and innovative approach. The creative sector in Africa can navigate the challenges posed by this policy and continue to thrive only if our governments take up the challenge and avail resources to support the development and existence of arts and cultural activities in their respective countries,” he said.
Umkhathi founder Matesu Dube said the country’s festivals would be hardest hit by the new developments.
“The arts environment has been hostile, especially to us in Bulawayo who are far away from the donor community. With the cutting of aid by the US and other countries to Africa, it’s going to be worse even though we haven’t been surviving on donor funding because once in a while we have accessed donor funds for projects, especially during the Covid-19 period. It’s sad for the arts community as most of our festivals are donor funded, so this means the much-needed festivals may fold. We will have no platforms to showcase our products. As a country, we need to strategise for arts funding streams. We need to focus on the corporate sector and do partnerships,” Dube said.
Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo director Raisedon Baya said that he felt that the arts scene in Bulawayo would not sink, as most of their undertakings were passion projects that were made without donor support.
“I want to believe that a lot of art that is being made in Bulawayo is not backed by donor funding. I might be wrong but that is what I feel. I think a lot of our art is self-funded, it’s about passion and people that are saying this is what we have and we are going to make the best of it. If you look at activities in the last year or even the year before that, there are very few that we could say were donor funded. There were also very few institutions that are tapping into donor funds,” he said.
Baya said he believed that the country’s artists should stop looking for foreign saviours but look for ways to attain funding from within the country instead.
“We are seeing the cuts and it is not about Usaid only. I think in the last week I have read about intended cuts by the UK, the Netherlands and other countries. What this means is that we will be affected because these cuts will hit the arts, sport and culture sectors. The cake will become less and less or it will not exist at all in the arts.
“However, what this also means is that as a sector we need to think we need to start thinking about alternative ways and sources of funding. We need to start looking at funding within the country itself. For those that are creatives, it is time to make things that sell so that those projects fund production for the next work. It also means we now need to be more united than ever,” he said.
