Some Zimbabwean
musicians, primary members of the Zimbabwe Musicians Union, are up in arms with
ZIMURA, accusing it of silencing their voices.
The Zimbabwe
Musicians’ union president, Edith Katiji said musicians are suffering under
unfair decisions, including a proposed 150 United States dollar licensing fee
imposed without consultation.
“Musicians are
not receiving royalties transparently, and those who ask questions are silenced
or sidelined. ZIMURA behaves like it owns musicians, yet its role should be to
serve them.”
Arts critic,
Plot Mhako says these problems reflect years of non-accountability.
“Artists who
question ZIMURA are pushed out. With a director convicted of fraud, the call
for a forensic audit is now urgent,” he stated.
ZIMURA insists
it is following proper procedures, saying accusations of misgovernance are
unfounded and damaging to its operations.
“You cannot
just wake up and demand leadership changes through the media. There are proper
election processes. Those alleging gross misgovernance must state point by
point what it is. Negative publicity only delays collections and hurts
musicians when clients hesitate to pay,” ZIMURA’s Deputy Director Mr Henry
Makombe said.
The government
acknowledges the disputes and says efforts are underway to bring stakeholders
together through the National Arts Council (NAC).
“We always
encourage artists and collective management organisations to register with the
National Arts Council so we can intervene. Talks are ongoing to resolve issues
around royalty collection and representation,” National Arts Council of
Zimbabwe’s Communications and Marketing Manager, Aggabu Nyabinde noted.
Experts believe
the raging war between ZIMURA and some artists has also contributed to the
emergence of other collective management organisations, which perform almost
the same roles, creating divisions in the sector. zbc
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