THOHOYANDOU - A war of words is looming between two local reggae artists and an entertainment company over the money the artists were allegedly to be paid after their performance. Humbulani Muthude, alias Jahman Chiganja, and Ntshengedzeni Nthungeni of the group Ntshenge and the Jah Live, claim Zion Rock Entertainment did not pay them for their performance at the University of Venda auditorium on 19 February.

The festival, which featured 10 local artists, drew a large crowd and it was dubbed The peaceful war of the Rastas.

In an exclusive interview with the artists, they disclosed that the Entertainment Company told them that they would get their money soon after their performance.

“We were surprised to be told after the show that the organizers were tired and we would get our money the next day, which was Monday, 21 February. We were assured that the money would be stored in a safe place but we are surprised that we are now taken from pillar to post. When we went to meet the organizers on Monday, they told us to come back on Wednesday, 23 February. We went again on Wednesday and the meeting was again postponed to Thursday but we ended up not getting our money. This is seriously affecting us as artists and I believe we deserve to be paid for our services,” said Jahman Chiganja.

Ntshenge also shared the same sentiments. He complained: “We were told we would get equal shares soon after the show, but we did not get anything. The organizers could not give us a clear reason why we are not getting our money. We asked them to show us the remaining cuttings of the tickets sold, but we were told that they were mistakenly put in the dustbin, which was mistakenly dumped at the municipality-dumping site. They told us that they went to look for the ticket cuttings at the municipal dumping site but the tractor had already destroyed them. We condemn this shabby treatment because artists are exploited on a daily basis. We need the money as promised because we have worked hard and we earn a living through music.”

The artists also allege that the proceedings for the festival have not been used but they were surprisingly put in the personal bank account of a well-known reggae artist.

The Public Relations Officer of Zion Rock Entertainment, Mangerengere Netshifhefhe, said his company incurred a lot of expenditure in the organization and running of the show. He explained: “As a new company, we did not have enough equipment like a proper sound system and we had to hire them. We also dug a lot from our own pockets to ensure the smooth running of the show because we did not manage to secure a sponsor. Besides that, the show was meant to unite the local artists and we agreed before the show that no artist would be paid. We agreed in the meeting that the money would not be shared, but it would be used in future events like a big show that is scheduled for Easter. I cannot understand why the two artists are going public, claiming that we have misused them.”

Asked about the allegations that the proceedings of the festival were deposited into another artist’s personal bank account, Mangerengere said: “The artist volunteered his bank account as Zion Rock is still organizing its own account. The money will be transferred as soon as we have our own account. As a new company, we agreed that there might have been some loopholes during the show but it has given us an opportunity to rectify our mistakes in the future.” However, Mangerengere said it is against the ethics of his company to disclose the amount made during the show or to divulge the number of tickets bought.