MBABANE – The procurement of a mobile stage by Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC) shows that the arts industry is moving towards international standards, where artists can earn a living through their craft.
The occasion was honoured by the Minister for Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Bongani Nzima, who said that he is seeing the council go beyond limits to see fulfil artists’ strong hope to keep pursuing their careers and encourages others to take part in the arts sector. “The purchase of the mobile stage equipment is an important step because it will strengthen regional programmes for creatives. The mobile stage will also help make regional festivals more successful for artists, as they will be able to use the equipment at lower costs than commercial rates. The mobile stage unit was bought with part of the E3 860 000 local funds allocated to the council for sound equipment and a motor vehicle,” said the minister.
According to ENCAC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Stanley Dlamini, the mobile stage will enable local creatives to further access the equipment at a lower price as compared to commercial prices. “This means it will now be easy for our creatives to host festivals. Recently, the council hosted the Lubombo Regional Festival as part of the ongoing NACAs, where they used the mobile stage for the first time.
“The council plans to use the stage more in different regions to help grow arts and culture programmes and improve them to high standards. Such equipment will also boost the economy because festivals help to grow local businesses and create jobs,” he said.
As stated in the Eswatini National Arts and Culture Policy, festivals and exhibitions bring people from different backgrounds together to promote, preserve and display our culture. “The country, through the right organisations, should make a strong effort to use festivals and exhibitions to show the important parts of Swati culture. Government will take necessary steps to attract private sector support for festivals and help make them more commercial, so they can last and succeed,” added the minister.
