Dear Minister McKenzie
The polite thing to do would be to congratulate you on your appointment as the minister of sport, arts and culture, but to be honest, many of our heads are still spinning. We know from previous appointments that the president absolutely does not respect our sector, having reappointed as the arts minister the failed police minister – Nathi Mthethwa - who should have been fired as the political incumbent responsible for the Marikana massacre. After Mthethwa was posted to France to continue to eat at the trough of public funds as our ambassador, despite Zondo fingering him for corruption, Ramaphosa then appointed Zizi Kodwa to the position of sport, arts and culture minister. He faces possible jail time, while you, at least, have served yours. You should have robbed a bank now that you’re in parliament, like some of your red-beret colleagues have done with VBS, then you too would be above the law and walk around freely, pontificating about others having to pay back the money.
As for the police minister who was demoted to arts minister, it is interesting that the DA has done it in reverse by promoting the affable, empathetic and highly respected Anroux Marais – former MEC for cultural affairs and sport – to the demanding portfolio of police oversight and community safety in the Western Cape.
So, who knows, if you do this job decently enough, you may be in line for a promotion, perhaps changing jobs with John Steenhuisen when he is recalled by Helen Zille (since there are only a few spelling and punctuation differences between arts and culture and agriculture).
To be fair to you, no one qualified for the job of arts and culture minister has ever been appointed to the job. It’s a bit like having a teacher as the minister of defence. But at least you’ve written a few books, so you may have some insights into the publishing industry and how difficult it is to make a living as a writer in our country, even with a few “bestsellers”. Fortunately for you, you have a few other income streams, unlike most creatives, whose income is more of a drought-stricken trickle.
When you announced that you were going to make spinning a sporting priority as minister, many thought that perhaps you had interests in a Lycra company and bicycles, but alas, you were speaking about cars. You believe that young men interested in cars will stay away from crime, though it has to be said that some young men could be particularly interested in cars as getaway vehicles. With a youth unemployment rate of 70%, it is doubtful that car spinning would be affordable for most young men, so I hope that your vision to burn tyres on cars rather than around foreigners does not lead to a spike in carjackings. I’m sure, though, that if this undermined your crime-fighting goals, as a full-time politician now, you would be able to spin it somehow.
Which leads me to these questions: do you really believe that the death penalty should be brought back? Would you really take off the oxygen mask from an African national and give it to a South African instead? And does your Christian Zionism really blind you to the genocide being committed in Gaza? You have just had your swearing in ceremony, promising to uphold the Constitution and its Bill of Rights. (I often think that politicians should rather have a “swearing at” ceremony, like Jou ma se PA – Jou ma se Patriotic Alliance!) The arts are premised on the constitutional principle of freedom of creative expression, so should we be worried that you do not particularly care for constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms?
You are a bit of a maverick. You’re independently minded. You obviously have a sense of humour. And charisma. You also represent a community of people who believe that they have been marginalised in post-apartheid South Africa. All of these resonate with artists.
We are not taken seriously. We challenge authority (well, those who do not censor themselves for fear of alienating public funding). We are deeply patriotic, not to a party, but to our country, and yet, while we are brilliant at what we do, politicians recognise us only when we have done well on some international stage. Then they rush to have their photos taken with us and to dish out some patronising gift, when they have had nothing to do with our success. We generally achieve and remain resilient despite, not because of, government support, and certainly not because of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, which is completely out of touch with the sector.
This is also why we resort to open letters. It’s extremely difficult to reach and have meaningful dialogue with the politicians and bureaucrats who have a huge say over our lives and livelihoods. Hopefully Kenny Kunene gets to read this and passes it on to you when next you do sushi together.
You have interests in mining. So, you would understand that just as our country is rich in minerals, we have vast reserves of incredible talent that are ready to be beneficiated, and to make a contribution not simply to the economy, but to the emotional, intellectual and spiritual wealth of our citizens and to the well-being of our country.
This, then, is to invite you to get to know us – beyond the sweetheart entities that your predecessors have created and imposed on us as our representatives, beyond the gatkruipers dependent on state patronage for their lifestyles – to listen and to hear us before making big pronouncements about us or for us.
You are part of a Government of National Unity, and there is much talk about a National Dialogue as the next step. How about, in your first 100 days, starting with a national dialogue with the arts and culture sector, to help guide your next 1 725?
Yours in the art of spinning
Mike van Graan
See also:
Elders gesien: Gee die agbare minister Gayton McKenzie ’n kans om homself te bewys
Kommentaar
If ever there was a loose cannon, it is Gayton M. I much prefer loose cannons to the dead rubber and other controversial and problematic comrades we have been keeping afloat for three decades now.