Online Reporter
Zimpapers Arts and Entertainment Hub
MUSICIAN Sanii Makhalima has questioned the sharp decline in royalty payuts at the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMURA).
He said he has been following the developments at ZIMURA from the sidelines for some time before deciding to publicly raise questions.
He is particularly interested in the figures contained in the organisation’s executive summary.
According to his analysis, ZIMURA collected about US$1,948 million in 2023, with expenditure accounting for approximately 51,66 percent, or US$1,006 million, while about US$942,000 was paid to members.
In 2024, collections fell to approximately US$1,640 million, while expenditure increased to about US$1,05 million, representing 64,06 percent of collections. Member payouts, meanwhile, fell to approximately US$590,000.
“I have watched and listened from the sidelines for some time but I think this has now gone on for far too long. “After reading the Executive Summary and looking at the figures, I have some questions that I don’t believe have been properly answered. “That is the anomaly,” he said.
Makhalima calculated that while collections declined by about US$308,000, expenditure increased by roughly US$44,000 and member payouts fell by approximately US$352,000, a decline of about 37 percent.
He questioned whether the explanations provided for the decline in distributions adequately showed the financial impact of the challenges faced by the organisation. The executive summary has economic, regulatory and operational disruptions, licensing constraints, delays in broadcaster payments, competition from a rival collective management organisation (CMO) and legal disputes among factors affecting ZIMURA’s operations.
Makhalima said members needed to see the figures linking these challenges to the reduction in payouts. “We need the figures, not just the explanations,” he said. Among the questions he raised was how much of the approximately US$352,000 reduction in member payouts could be attributed to each of the factors cited by ZIMURA.
He also questioned why expenditure increased from 51,66 percent of collections in 2023 to 64,06 percent in 2024 at a time when collections had fallen by 15,8 percent.
Makhalima called for a detailed breakdown of the approximately US$1,05 million expenditure recorded in 2024, including salaries, executive and board remuneration, allowances, legal fees, consultancy costs, rent, vehicles, travel, information technology, audit and banking costs, debt recovery and other operational expenses.
He called for year-on-year expenditure figures from 2019 to 2024 to enable members to track changes in the organisation’s costs.
The musician also questioned the impact of broadcaster payment delays, calling for aged debtor schedules for 2023 and 2024 showing who owed ZIMURA money, how much was outstanding, how long debts had remained unpaid, what had been recovered and whether any amounts had been written off.
On the reported competition from a rival CMO, Makhalima asked ZIMURA to disclose how much royalty income it believed had been lost as businesses moved to the competing organisation.
He also sought clarification on the transition from local currency to United States dollar royalty collections in 2024, including the amount collected in foreign currency, exchange rates used, timing of conversions and any foreign exchange gains or losses recorded.
Makhalima said the issue was not about making accusations without evidence, but about members having access to sufficient information to understand the organisation’s finances.
“For every dollar collected in 2024, where did it go?
“Reconcile the US$1.640m against administration, staff, local artists, foreign rights holders, trust funds, receivables, payables, reserves and every other allocation.
“There should be no unexplained money.
“At this point, I believe an independent audit or forensic financial review, agreed upon transparently with the members, is necessary.”
He added:
“This is not about making accusations without evidence. It is about getting the evidence.
“If everything is above board, the books should clearly demonstrate it.
“If there are discrepancies, unexplained expenditure, questionable write-offs, related-party transactions or other irregularities, then members deserve to know.”
Makhalima said the questions could ultimately be reduced to one:
“Where did the money go?”
He wants the answers supported by financial statements, ledgers, bank records, debtor schedules, contracts and other supporting documents rather than explanations alone.
