Renowned comedian David Kau has expressed his frustration with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture for failing to recognise and provide support to stand-up comedians in the country.
Since his election as the new minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton Mckenzie has been praised for his eagerness and becoming active as soon as he stepped into his new role. To date, the minister has been spotted at various sporting events from the Springboks’ opening game against Ireland to the recent Olympic games held in Paris.
He has also made efforts to ensure transparency in the work he does by revealing the list of artists who have benefited from his department during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as taking action when it seemed as though Nigerian model Chidimma Adetshina would run for Miss South Africa. All of these have gained him favour from citizens in the country.
While many have been impressed by his efforts David Kau, however, feels that there is a group of entertainers that the department has failed to recognise – stand-up comedians.
In a tweet on X (former Twitter), he wrote: “Do we have to be in the Olympics or die before us Stand-Up comedians meet you Gayton Mckenzie?”
“We know we’re not recognised or there’s no category for us although we have employed hundreds of people without any government assistance but would appreciate a meeting please.”
He later asked Gayton to advise who he needed to speak to to set it up and said he would run, spin and do whatever it took to get that meeting.
In a separate post, he added that he has reached out to the new minister multiple times but was unsuccessful and asked the X community to retweet his post to gain attention.
Meanwhile, the post eventually got the minister’s attention.
In response, Gayton wrote: “I have attended every comedy show you ever had. I had bought loads of tickets despite you offering them for free, I even bought my staff.
“I have booked you last year for our event at Houghton Hotel. I can’t have you insinuating that I don’t care about comedians.”
Meanwhile, he later agreed to invite comedians to talk about the wonderful job opportunities they create in the sector.
Also see: Minister Gayton Mckenzie issues public apology to Olympic athletes for lack of support
