CASE FOR ARTS IN ECONOMIC REVIVAL

The lovely kingdom of Eswatini is undoubtedly sanctified with an abundance of talent and skills that if tapped into and nurtured well can make an instant impact on the nation’s economic growth.

Eswatini’s multi-faceted creative economy is rightly positioned to be a major player in the economic revival of the country.
From music, to theatre, to designers and fashion, the arts sectors have created jobs for dozens of individuals over the years and have been contributing to the tourism industry.

accommodation
The dozens, however, need to grow into thousands of jobs in future. One needs to look no further than the hugely successful and still growing MTN Bushfire Festival to see the impact that the arts has on the economy. The MTN Bushfire Festival of the arts is said to have generated over E500 million in the broader creative economy over the past 12 years.

The festival now attracts about 30 000 people from over 50 countries. These 30 000 people all during that week contribute to the economy through accommodation, spending in local shops as well as other investments to our country. This is just one festival nestled in a country that is home to some of the world’s most gifted artists. Imagine if there was more support for such events?

Last week a much-hyped theatre play ‘Buhle Buyeza’ was unveiled to the public at the Eswatini Theatre Club. And my goodness did it live up to its pre- event billing! The historic play is a well written and brilliantly executed masterpiece.

The talent on display would need more than this half page for me to do justice in adequately describing it. As we walked out of the fully packed theatre, one young man was talking to himself and I overhead him say, “This is just too good, why don’t we have these plays every week?”

Well this brings me again to this week’s case for discussion. While government is currently working on four key sectors as we seek a drastic economic recovery, the arts has a strong case on its own to be a fifth sector. Every Thursday to Sunday I literally need to induce myself to sleep so as to drown away the loud music from the nearby disco at the community I live in.

discussion

Well another option would be to call the police to help them lower it down a bit. But it is ok. Let them be. What is happening between Thursday to Sunday at these loud speaker blurting joints is economic activity. Money is moving from a pocket to a cash register and from the register to a bank and in turn a portion to taxes. Actually, even people selling the popular ‘chicken dust’ are now benefiting from this Thursday to Sunday noise. By the way what is the tangy spice they use on that chicken? I digress.

Who has time to cook while listening to songs like ‘Fela in Versace?’
Yes there is a song with that title. But that is not for discussion today. So such discos give birth to other smaller industries and yet again money is exchanging hands. Not everyone has a vehicle, though that is hard to fathom when you see the long bumper to bumper traffic jams on Fridays. The taxi industry also benefits from the nightlife.

What is clear is that there is a large percentage of the population that feeds off entertainment and that entertainment, alongside tourism, are money spinners for the economy.

contribution
Let me take you on a trip to the United States for a moment.  In 2018 there was data on the impact of arts released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). I love nice big terms like the ‘endowment for arts’, they make me sound smart. Anyways they offered an insightful picture of the impact the arts have on a nation’s economy.

It revealed that the arts contribute US$763.6 billion to the U.S. economy, more than agriculture, transportation, or warehousing.  The arts employ 4.9 million workers across the country with earnings of more than US$370 billion. Recently, the exchange rate of the Dollar to the Emalangeni was more than 14 those figures fill up a calculator if you try to convert to local currency.

But away from maths and accounts, which are not my favorite subjects. In simple English, the arts have a huge positive impact on a nation’s economy. Ask South Africa just next door. South Africa is aligned with this trend where in 2014, according to some early mapping of the sector, South Africa’s creative economy contributed over R90.5bn to the national economy or 2.9% of the GDP in 2013 to 2014, exceeding, for instance, the contribution of agriculture to the GDP (2.2%).

stimulates

Ok, I’m sounding like an economist now but you get the picture I am sure. Latest figures are not at my fingertips but just by looking at Cassper’s Fill Up events where tens of thousands of people go to a stadium to support just one hip hop artist, you can be forgiven to believe that this trend has continued.
So back to beautiful Eswatini. Where to from here?

The supremely gifted Mozaik, who has all his life survived off music, released his debut album ‘NowHere’. Where to from here? Now here actually. We are now here and need to look at ways we can build a case for the arts to continue to be recognised as a player in the economic growth of Eswatini.

We need to be more supportive of local artists and shows. Nowhere should we say ‘oh it’s a show in Eswatini I am not going’, but we should say ‘we are now here to support an Eswatini show’ because it stimulates economic growth. Let’s also support initiatives by the Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture. Together let’s continue to make a case for the arts in economic growth of Eswatini.

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