BY OBAKENG MAJE
NORTH West department of Culture, Art and Traditional Affairs organised a workshop for up and coming artists in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District. The initiative was to illuminates young artists regarding the desires needed.

The event took place in Naledi Local municipality in Vryburg. District Director for CATA in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Tshwaro Mocumi said the department saw it vigorously to visits all artists in their wards in delivering the message.

“We will be visiting all wards in our consultative meetings with our emerging artists. If they fancy doing business with all government departments, they must be registered to avoid hassle,” Mocumi said.

He said most artists are not registered and at the end of the day they accuse the government for not taking them serious.

“We advised them to at least have NPO because if we book them as government, they need to have SARS certificate, Company registration number and be in our database. Most artists will not be booked and they sulk saying the government is overlooking them,” he said.

Vryburg-born fashion designer, Kealeboga Maruping said it is rigid nowadays as artist to get funding from any organisation.

“We hope the meeting will yields fruit because this is not for the first time being called to such meeting. We just hope this time around we will receive help. The government always preaches that they supporting youth, but that help never came.

“We have been registering from local municipality, regional and provincially but lets hope for the best,” Maruping outlines.

Another artist who is a producer, musician said the department of CATA must make sure that all artists in the province are catered for because without artists, culture is non-existence.

“A large proportion of the department of CATA’s budget must be dedicated to support developing institutional and infrastructure to showcase, restore and preserve South Africa’s heritage for the future generations.

“Investing in culture is the department’s flagship programme to eradicate poverty, providing the necessary skills to enable people to assume greater responsibility for the future,” Olebogeng Bondiwa said.
-TDN
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