President Ramaphosa accused of dodging creative industry over open letter

President Ramaphosa accused of dodging creative industry over open letter

President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that he is yet to receive an open letter purportedly sent to him by members of the South African creative industry over the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performer Protection Amendment Bill.

On Monday, members of the South African Creative Practitioners in Unity (Sacpu) requested an urgent meeting with Ramaphosa to discuss some of the concerns presented by the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performers Protection Rights Amendment Bill.

This letter comes hot on the heels of another letter penned by UDM leader Bantu Holomisa over the same issues raised by the sector.

On Tuesday, in a statement Holomisa said the recent letter by the industry marks exactly a month after he penned a letter addressing the same issues to Ramaphosa.

“It marks over a month since our open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 7 2024 relating to the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performers Protection Rights Amendment Bill. We have decided to issue this media statement. Our letter caused a flurry of activity by various political parties, including the African National Congress (ANC) which voted for the flawed Bills with a resounding and unanimous 236 votes in Parliament,” Holomisa said.

The ANC convened a workshop with artists over the two bills on March 16.

Chairperson of the ANC’s NEC Arts, Culture and Sports Subcommittee Thandi Moraka, said among the issues it discussed with artists were the two bills which are awaiting Ramaphosa’s signature to become law.

Some in the sector want the bills in their current form scrapped, as they believe they do not provide sufficient protection for their Intellectual Property and works.

“There is one clause on the Copyright Amendment Bill that speaks about fair use as opposed to fair dealing that is really creating this degree of discomfort amongst the sector. We are here today convening this session with the creatives to try to get if from them again today to hear how they want this bill to be captured before it is enacted into a law. So, the platform for today is to also serve as a platform to continue to get these views from these people to say as the ANC, we still have room to make these corrections to the Copyright Amendment Act,” she said last month.

Holomisa said Ramaphosa has failed to live up to his promise to meet the creative sector by April 1.

“He also promised to meet with the creatives/artists on 1 April 2024. This is now being referred to as an ‘April Fools’ meeting. Needless to say, it never happened. There has not even been a courtesy to explain or account to the artists,” said Holomisa.

Speaking to The Star, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the president was yet to receive this letter.

“The president has not received the letter you reference. Thus, I am not in a position to respond to questions 2 and 3,” he said.

Last year, the late Mbongeni Ngema likened the bills to colonialism when speaking against it in Parliament as a representative of the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation.

On Monday, Sacpu said the government continues to fail the sector even though the sector could be an answer to the country’s unemployment crisis.

The Star

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