Johannesburg - The newly elected Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Zizi Kodwa, has promised to work with all the stakeholders in the sports, arts, and cultural sectors in a bid to make the sectors contribute to job creation.
This comes after the recent cabinet reshuffle, which saw the booting out of Nathi Mthethwa as the minister and the election of former ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa as his successor.
Many have slammed this appointment, while sports, arts, and culture stakeholders have chosen to welcome him as their leader.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) and the South African Music Industry Council (Samic) were the first to congratulate Kodwa on his appointment.
"We view his appointment as a positive development in an exciting time for sport, where we have a lot of sporting activities, and as we journey towards the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We hope that he will also play a crucial role in providing leadership on topical issues in sport and creating alignment in the governance and growth of sport in the country," Sascoc said in a statement.
The president of Samic, Vusi Leeuw, said they have confidence in the youthfulness and leadership qualities of their new minister and hope he will bring the much-needed leadership to help the sector that has the potential to create jobs for the county’s young people.
"We believe that Minister Kodwa will engage with the sector and be a minister who will be genuinely interested in the agenda of building a united and sustainable music industry that will in turn contribute to the health, wellbeing, and social cohesion of a contemporary national identity," Leeuw said.
Leeuw said the country’s music industry faces a myriad of challenges, including infrastructure, limited access to funding, and a lack of legal protection for its creatives.
"We look forward to working with Minister Kodwa to address these issues and ensure the continued growth of the SA music industry," he said.
Speaking during his swearing-in on Tuesday, Kodwa acknowledged the many challenges within the sports, arts, and cultural sectors in carving a national identity.
"We are entrusted with the country’s heritage and national symbols and therefore take this work very seriously. We will be working with all stakeholders to make sure that we play our part as a government as an enabler and an economic driver in job creation for our young people. It is only when we work together that we will achieve that objective," he said.
The Star