ACASWA ORDERS ARTISTS TO STOP DEBATE!

MBABANE – It seems the local gospel music industry and holy war are married together.

The forthcoming ACASWA national executive committee elections have not made things any easier for gospel artists as the debate on who should be elected has threatened to wear off the brotherhood and sisterhood binding them together.

The captivating energy usually displayed on stage has been shifted to the brewing battle caused by a fake list that started circulating on social media last week. According to some artists, the list was compiled by certain members in the association in a quest to force the membership to consider the suggested candidates when voting for the next national executive committee.

The elections are expected to take place soon after the interim committee tables its report of the findings gathered from the previous committee that was led by Mzwakhe Myeni. According to Secretary General Thamie Ndlovu, the report should be delivered end of February at the association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).

A number of artists took to the association’s WhatsApp group and vented their frustration over the debate of who should be elected to the next committee, while others believed there was nothing wrong about this as artists were free to show interest in joining the national executive committee.

President Dumisani Manana said artists should stop the debate with immediate effect because it was disturbing the compilation of of the report.
“When we were elected to office last year, we were given a three-month mandate to come back with findings on what really happened during the time of Myeni’s reign as most members needed answers on a number of issues.

We want to focus on that at the moment and we humbly ask artists to stop disturbing us with the debate and fake lists. We plead with artists not to divert their focus because they are the ones who gave us this mandate,” he said.

Manana added that gospel artists should seek clarity rather than being caught up in such debates.
This comes after a number of artists suggested that Terence Matse or Mandla ‘Cheeks’ Nxumalo should be their next president.

Elections

However, Ndlovu begged to differ as he said the report had nothing to do with elections.
“This is happening in free and democratic societies. It is called lobbying. I think it is good for the association as credible and competent people raise their hands to lend a hand to our ailing organisation,” Ndlovu said.
In addition, he said as a member of the interim committee, he supported the collective stance to let artists wait for the report which will be delivered in February.
Former PRO Ronnie Dlamini said he understood they needed to wait for the report, therefore he would not comment on the suggestions that he should be voted as the Secretary General in the next elections.
“I have been with the association for a long time. I understand it needs someone who is dedicated and ready to sacrifice, however, we are still focused on the report compilation,” Dlamini said.
Pastor Vusi Shiba of Shiba and the Travellers said he did not want to comment on the matter as he was waiting for the AGM.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: