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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
BULAWAYO artistes will be the last to receive their Covid-19 relief funds after it emerged that there were some who applied for their spouses, creating duplicates that were rejected by the distributing bank.

This was revealed yesterday by National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) director Nicholas Moyo during a Covid-19 Athletes and Artistes Relief Fund Awareness at the Mhlahlandela Government Complex Conference Room in Bulawayo.

Moyo was responding to a question during the plenary session as to why there were delays in the allocation of the funds.

Artistes were allocated $10 million as a Covid-19 relief set aside by Government is being distributed by Empower Bank. Some artistes in Matabeleland South province have received some Covid-19 relief.

Funds to qualifying beneficiaries shall be a once-off payment, with individual artistes getting up to $5 000, artist businesses up to $7 500 and social organisations up to $7 500.

According to NACZ, there were 216 applications that were received by Bulawayo province with 172 sailing through while 44 were rejected.

He said he was disappointed that there were some artistes who went as far as try to fraudulently get more funds than others.

“The finance department had challenges with the list from Bulawayo. It was one province with too many duplications and the system rejected the whole batch. For example, someone will apply and thinks it’s so good to get the $5 000 and makes an application using their spouse’s name. That is what we were seeing more in Bulawayo,” said Moyo.

He said some artistes would include their spouses without their knowledge.

“So, what then happens is because they have one bank account, they are rejected. Now because they are rejected the whole batch of beneficiaries is sent back. We were actually sitting with the finance department discussing these discrepancies in Bulawayo. Some of you are being phoned the phone number that you gave to be your wife’s is the wrong number. In one case the person was phoned and she said she didn’t apply to the artiste,” said Moyo.

He said as such that was why the provice will be the last to get their funds, while other artistes were getting their portion.

“I think it isn’t fair as Bulawayo is the last province that will get the funds. The person working in finance cannot just remove the name, because they need to verify,” said Moyo.

The guest of honour at the meeting was the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Dr Thokozile Chitepo.

The meeting was attended by playwright, Raisedon Baya, National Gallery of Zimbabwe regional director Butholezwe Kgosi Nyathi, visual artiste George Masarira, Victory Siyanqoba director, poet, and activist Desire “Moyoxide” Moyo who gave a riveting poem on the effects of Covid-19 during proceedings. Khulumani FM’s Cde Phil was the director of ceremonies.

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