The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe
Zimbabwe celebrates 41 years of Independence today.
While there has been a lot of development in different sectors of the economy, the same cannot be said about the creative and culture industry, or the arts sector.
Since Independence, little has been done for the sector to blossom.
But this has changed since the advent of the Second Republic under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa.
Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry launched the country’s first ever National Arts, Culture and Heritage Policy in 2019.
Her predecessors failed to do so despite spirited lobbying by arts enthusiasts like the late Stephen Chifunyise.
The policy is expected to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks and red tape that previously affected the arts industry.
Last year, Government also launched the Culture and Creative Industries Strategy.
Further, principles of the Arts and Culture Bill (2020) were recently approved by Cabinet.
Before the latest development, the country did not have “legislation that regulates arts and culture promotion and development, cultural and creative industries, Intellectual Property Rights of cultural and creative practitioners, and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and cultural expressions,” according to Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa.
The Bill also provides for the establishment, regulation and maintenance of the Arts Development Fund.
The industry is now upbeat.
“I think that this is a very positive thing, probably the best thing that has ever happened in a very long time. There has been a lot of fragmentation in the sector,” said chairperson of the Bureau of the Fifth Pan-African Cultural Congress, Daves Guzha.
“We currently exist in about nine different ministries. Because of that, funds allocated to us have been all over the place such that we end up not receiving them.
“. . . captains of industry must be called in before the Attorney-General’s Office starts drawing that particular Bill so that by the time it gets into Parliament, everyone else is in sync and we are all in agreement.”
In many parts of the world, the arts sector is a key driver of economic development.
The African Union declared 2021 as “The AU Year of the Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”.
“This was something that was long overdue in the sense that if we have proper governance tools, then you know that it is the first step towards professionalising the sector and also making sure that our cultural heritage is being given due recognition,” said executive director of Savanna Trust, Daniel Maposa.
“We have been on record as a sector and myself as an individual stating that it is the role of Government to ensure the arts and culture industry is supported financially.
“The prevailing scenario where you have international donors being the primary funders of the arts is not conducive for the growth of the sector. They will be promoting their interests at the expense of ours,” he said.
Renowned playwright Raisedon Baya said: “… the idea of regulating control and putting up systems could actually go a long way in terms of developing the sector. The hope is that such laws will be used for the right purposes.”
