The Musina Arts and Culture Council was launched on Friday, 21 October, at the Nancefield Multipurpose Centre, giving the different types of artists within all 12 of Musina's wards a recognised platform to voice matters related to arts and culture.
Mr Vincent Netshivhodza from the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture said that having a recognised structure to coordinate all arts and culture activities in Musina was important. "Government and various partners have developed many programmes to benefit arts and culture practitioners, but it becomes a problem when these people are not united. Now that we have a recognised structure in Musina, it would be easier to manage, as we now know whom to contact regarding arts and culture activities."
The newly elected chairperson of the Musina Arts and Culture Council, Mulondo Ramanuwa, said his immediate task would be to unite Musina's artists. "There is no doubt that Musina has talented arts and culture practitioners who can compete with the best world-wide. Our duty is to unite these people and give them a platform to realise their potential."
He thanked arts and culture practitioners for having trust in him and the rest of the committee. "We are here to serve the interests of the people, and we can only achieve all our goals through teamwork. We will take the arts and culture fraternity to another level," he said.
Ramanuwa's sentiments were echoed by the newly elected secretary, Sedzani Stanley Sigebe, better known as Pro Heed in the entertainment industry. Sigebe, who is the founder of the Pro Heed Agency, a television casting agency, said this was the best platform to uplift artists from Musina. "Over the years, I have created national and international opportunities for many role models. Now is the time to promote my own artists here in Musina," he said.
The full committee is as follows: Mulondo Ramanuwa (chairperson), Benjamin Mashila (deputy chairperson), Stanley Sigebe (secretary), Francinah Chauke (deputy secretary), Humbulani Munyai (treasurer), Gloria Chauke, Milina Mutele, Murendeni Tshilande, Kganetjo Moyo and Mbavhalelo Phuravhathu (additional members).