After lots of dispute, ANC provincial chairperson and Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma announced that KwaZulu-Natal will no longer be hosting this year’s South African Music Awards (SAMAs).
The event which honours South Africa’s finest musical talent was scheduled to take place across two days from 17- 18 November as they battle for the South African industry’s highest honour.
According to the news publication The Sowetan, Siboniso made known that the decision was taken after a thorough consultation with multiple stakeholders.
“I have advised the department to stop the hosting of SAMA awards this year. This was a collective decision.
“We reiterate the point that our hearts are with artists whose lives were destroyed during the Covid-19 [pandemic] and SAMAs was their hope and source of income ahead of festive season,” he added.
The province was forced to make the decision after opposition parties in the form of EFF and Action SA disapproved the idea of spending an alleged “R28million” on a two-day event while the province is still trying to recover from the recent natural disasters and water issues.
Siboniso adds that this is not the case and that the R28 million is part of a campaign of disinformation. Instead, the actual amount would have cost R20 million.
He, however, does believe that the event would have been a big benefit to the province.
This would have been the first time in eight years that the province hosted the musical awards.
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