RiSA Reacts to Durban Suddenly Withdrawing As SAMA29 Host: “It Stood to Benefit the Creative Sector”

• The Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA) has reacted to the South African Music Awards being cancelled
• RiSA, the organiser of the award ceremony, says it only knew at suddenly that the show no longer had a home
• It says in a statement shared with Briefly News it had signed a three-year contract with KwaZulu-Natal's EDTEA

The Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA), organisers of the 29th South African Music Awards (SAMA29) responded to the show being elbowed by its former Durban host. The ceremony was scheduled for 11 November.

RiSA publicly told the SAMA29 was cancelled

In a statement shared with Briefly News, RiSA's CEO Nhlanhla Sibisi claims he only found out this morning that the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTA) would no longer be hosting the ceremony:

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"We have a three-year contract with EDTA and will be consulting with our contractual partners, to find out what led to this decision and carve a way forward. As such, we will advise in due course what the next steps for SAMA29 will be."

Sibisi gracefully thanked KZN's Tourism MEC Siboniso Duma for his support:

"We are thankful for the support shown by the government of KZN to our industry... Unfortunately, the net losers in the sudden turn of events are the musicians and creatives who oftentimes receive the short end of the stick."

RiSA pours cold water over wasteful expenditure speculations

Sibisi refuted claims that the R20 million funding by the EDTA was for wasteful expenditure:

"We note with dismay that a prestigious, credible and apolitical national cultural asset that has been in operation for 29 uninterrupted years, longer than any other award ceremony in South Africa and the continent, has been characterised as a conduit for looting.

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"This is an assertion that we as RiSA strongly rebuke. It stood to benefit the creative sector... The SAMA was going to directly create over 150 new job opportunities."

SAMAs expected to pump in R350 in revenue

Previously, Briefly News reported that the province was eyeing an R350 million profit from hosting the annual award ceremony, with roughly 4,000 tourists expected to descend to Durban.

The report stated that job opportunities were on the horizon as programmes were set in place for municipalities to host and spearhead tourism activations for their guests.

Source: Briefly News