With only a few days before the Poetry and Literary Calabash event, the show is already mired in controversy and might not take place.
The show, which will be hosted by award-winning poet and musician Mr Lutendo Mugagadeli (better known as Vendaboy Poet), is scheduled to take place on 15 December at the Khoroni Hotel's Moo Bar. The event is funded by the National Arts Council (NAC) and other sponsors. Big-name poets and musicians are said to be billed for the show.
Cracks and controversy started showing up not long after the NAC's funding was approved. Local businessman Mr Muvenda Talukanyani Ndou claimed that he had worked on the concept with Vendaboy Poet. He said that problems had started when he had enquired about his payment for the work done.
"The guy started avoiding me and he ended blocking my number and also slapped me with a protection order," Ndou said. He insisted that the idea of staging such a literary event was his. "We had applied [to the NAC] for R300 000, but only R100 000 was approved. I am not demanding something from nothing, but something that I worked for. I spent sleepless nights working on this concept and this is how he repays me," he said. Ndou said he would not be intimidated by the protection order and would contest it.
As if that was not enough, some of the artists scheduled to perform at the event are now threatening to pull out of the show, accusing Vendaboy Poet of having short-changed and disrespected them. One of the aggrieved artists is legendary musician and poet Burning Saul Nephawe, who was paid R2 000 to be part of the show.
"This boy is playing and is not taking me seriously. I was made to believe that he does not have funds and he was just doing me a favour by paying me R2 000 as a big-name artist. What is R2000 to me? This does not even cover my petrol costs for my car," he said.
Another well-known poet, Mr Ndivhuho Mabonyane, who is better known as Dzomolavenda, said he had also been approached, but he had refused the R1 000 offer. He wrote on his Facebook page:
"I refused to be part of the show after being asked to do a R1 000 invoice as I knew there was R100 000 funding from NAC. My concern is that he took my identity card and submitted it as one who is party to the project. I do not even know what to do next. If we do not think for each other, we will go nowhere as artists," he wrote.
Asked for comment, Vendaboy Poet denied all the allegations saying they were meant to tarnish his name. He later referred all queries to his communications manager, Musa Masombuka.
In a statement released on Sunday, Masombuka said that Muvenda Ndou had only contributed ideas to the event, but the concept had never been his. He said Vendaboy Poet and his team had already planned and the application for funding had been in progress when Ndou had become involved. "We would have loved and wished to thank Ndou for his contributions … through means of payment; however, he sent an invoice of R15 000 for other services we did not require. When we rejected his services, that is when he started his social media stunts and misconceptions," the statement reads.
In the statement, Masombuka also disputes the amount of the sponsorship as mentioned by Ndou. "The funding received from the National Arts Council is R70 000 and not R100 000 as Ndou claims on his social media pages. The R70 000 is for admin and artists booking ONLY. The remaining R30 000 from the NAC is for [an] outreach programme in 2023," he said.
Masombuka also tried to explain why the performing artists do not receive the same compensation. "To clarify, there are THREE categories of artists in the line-up: the headliners, supporting acts (upcoming poets), and legendary poets. With [this] line-up it is evident that booking fees are bound to not be the same," he said.
In his statement, he says that a protection order "has been granted by the Vuwani SAPS against him (Ndou) on 22 November 2022." (It later transpired that the order was obtained in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court.)
When Vendaboy Poet's spokesperson was asked about certain statements made in the press release, he responded in a very aggressive tone. One of the questions posed was why the grant amount was stated as R70 000, whereas it seemed to be R100 000.
"You need to get your facts right. This includes the correct spelling of our artist. Secondly, who is your source? If you did confirm with the National Arts Council, you would have found out that the total amount received was R70 000. We would like to question the credibility of your sources. We will not disclose further than this, we suggest you improve your verification and research skills," came the response.
The "source" used by Limpopo Mirror is the official documentation provided by the NAC. On the NAC's website, details of all grants are listed. In the section "Multidiscipline", it is stated that "Fifty-five (55) applications are recommended for approval, 24 individual projects and 31 organisation projects." This section states that R100 000 was granted to "Mugagadeli Lutendo Events" for a "Poetry & Literary Calabash."
The spokesperson then contradicted himself by admitting that the grant will be paid in two instalments, namely R70 000 and R30 000. He sent through the clause that states that the second instalment will be paid after the necessary documentation has been provided, such as an income-and-expenditure report.
He was also asked to provide a rough breakdown of how the grant money will be utilised.
"Of the R70 000, part of the amount is meant to go to administration, organising and managing of the event, and the rest to book artists. We have a line-up of an estimated 40 artists and service providers, who will be paid for this event and we will also be using our own funds to pay them," he said.