eThekwini Municipality's investment in Metro FM Music Awards sparks debate
The eThekwini Municipality has announced that Durban will host the Metro FM Music Awards.
Image: Willem Phungula
The announcement that the eThekwini Municipality is to host the Metro FM Music Awards has drawn mixed reactions from city councillors and ratepayers.
Some councillors felt the idea was not negative, as the City does need to be competitive. However, a ratepayers group said the city should not be involved in such sponsorships, suggesting that there are many businesspeople who could have been approached to fund the event.
Last week, the City announced that it has committed to an agreement to be the host city of the popular Metro FM Music Awards, with an investment of R25 million over the next three financial years (2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28). This partnership positions Durban as a leading events destination, boosts tourism, creates jobs, and enhances the city's brand visibility, both nationally and internationally, it said.
ActionSA councillor Zwakele Mncwango expressed concerns about the process followed in the approval of this deal. He stated that while the City needs to compete for events, the issue lies in how the funds are being spent.
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'We have not seen any report before council, and the fact that it is being announced before the council, which is the highest decision-making body, has a say, tells us that council is being used to rubber stamp this decision by the officials. This should have come to council first before they committed to hosting the Metro awards. The decision disregards the role of council. One wonders if the deal has been signed; that will be a concern for us as Action SA, that it is coming from which budget as we have not budgeted for the Metro,' he said.
Ish Pradlah also expressed concerns, stating, 'Why does the City of eThekwini want to spend so much money on the Metro FM Awards when we have such big businessmen and companies that benefit and get awarded tenders from the City and rake in millions from the city coffers and ratepayers' money?
'They should be the ones to sponsor awards like this and make it less of a burden for the ratepayers. Rich businessmen and entrepreneurs should give back to the City of eThekwini and lessen the cost to the city.'
THE MERCURY
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TimesLIVE
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Mthandeni SK served with letter of demand after 'no-show' at Durban Music Fest
Popular maskandi star Mthandeni Sibusiso Manqele, better known as Mthandeni SK, is embroiled in a legal dispute with Blue Screen Entertainment, a prominent events company, after a no-show at the Durban Music Fest. The company issued a letter of demand to Mthandeni SK after he allegedly failed to perform on May 3 at the festival at Moses Mabhida stadium, at which American musician Rick Ross was the headliner, even though he was paid fully before the festival. According to the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by TshisaLIVE, dated May 16 and signed by Brian Steel, head of legal at Blue Screen Entertainment, Mthandeni SK was contracted to perform at the festival. The company claims he was paid R40,000 for his performance — a deposit of R20,000 when he signed the contract and the final balance of R20,000 on May 2. However, Mthandeni SK allegedly skipped his performance and performed instead at the 25th Metro FM Music Awards in Mbombela. 'Despite receiving the full payment of R40,000, you failed to attend or perform at the festival, and you did not contact Blue Screen Entertainment or any of its representatives to communicate your unavailability. Further, it has been brought to our attention and confirmed through public and social media footage that you were instead performing at the Metro FM Awards on the same date in another city,' the letter states. The organisation said Mthandeni SK's no-show had caused it significant reputational and potential commercial damage. It demanded the immediate return of the final R20,000 final payment made on May 2 for services not rendered no later than May 23, which was Friday. 'Failure to comply with the letter of demand will leave Blue Screen Entertainment with no alternative but to pursue legal action for breach of contract and damages without further notice,' it stated. Asked for comment by TshisaLIVE, Mthandeni SK's office said: 'Yes, he performed at the Metros because their money was better, Mthandeni is a very busy man and sometimes he gets more than five gigs per day and some gigs he can't make it. However, we've reached out to the Blue Screen Entertainment guys and arranged when they'll expect their refund.' In a statement on Sunday, Blue Screen Entertainment said: 'Our company compensated Mthandeni SK with R40,000 in accordance with a signed contract for the Durban Music Festival scheduled on May 3. Unfortunately, instead of honouring this commitment, Mthandeni SK chose to perform at the Metro FM Awards on the same evening without notifying us of his absence. 'Upon confronting Mthandeni SK management about this breach of contract, his manager explained that they were unable to return the funds immediately, attributing the situation to a supposed scheduling conflict. It was stated that they 'simply forgot' to communicate with us, despite Mthandeni SK manager confirming his attendance with our team the day prior to the festival. 'After several discussions, his manager indicated that Mthandeni SK has a separate fee structure for promotional postings and proposed returning only R20,000 of the initial payment. We agreed to this resolution; however, as of today, we have yet to receive the adjusted amount we had mutually consented upon.'
IOL News
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eThekwini Municipality's investment in Metro FM Music Awards sparks debate
The eThekwini Municipality has announced that Durban will host the Metro FM Music Awards. Image: Willem Phungula The announcement that the eThekwini Municipality is to host the Metro FM Music Awards has drawn mixed reactions from city councillors and ratepayers. Some councillors felt the idea was not negative, as the City does need to be competitive. However, a ratepayers group said the city should not be involved in such sponsorships, suggesting that there are many businesspeople who could have been approached to fund the event. Last week, the City announced that it has committed to an agreement to be the host city of the popular Metro FM Music Awards, with an investment of R25 million over the next three financial years (2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28). This partnership positions Durban as a leading events destination, boosts tourism, creates jobs, and enhances the city's brand visibility, both nationally and internationally, it said. ActionSA councillor Zwakele Mncwango expressed concerns about the process followed in the approval of this deal. He stated that while the City needs to compete for events, the issue lies in how the funds are being spent. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading 'We have not seen any report before council, and the fact that it is being announced before the council, which is the highest decision-making body, has a say, tells us that council is being used to rubber stamp this decision by the officials. This should have come to council first before they committed to hosting the Metro awards. The decision disregards the role of council. One wonders if the deal has been signed; that will be a concern for us as Action SA, that it is coming from which budget as we have not budgeted for the Metro,' he said. Ish Pradlah also expressed concerns, stating, 'Why does the City of eThekwini want to spend so much money on the Metro FM Awards when we have such big businessmen and companies that benefit and get awarded tenders from the City and rake in millions from the city coffers and ratepayers' money? 'They should be the ones to sponsor awards like this and make it less of a burden for the ratepayers. Rich businessmen and entrepreneurs should give back to the City of eThekwini and lessen the cost to the city.' THE MERCURY
