The Forgotten Artist: Why Zimbabwe’s Creatives Die in Poverty and How to Fix It

By Siphosami Ndlovu

Allow me to say it is God, the Creator of heaven and earth. The greatest and most professional Artist who, with precision and purpose, painted the sky, shaped the mountains, and molded man.

If God the Creator is the first Content Creator, allow me to call every artist, every musician, every writer, every actor His child.

I am mind-boggled by the way His children,  the artists, are blamed, shamed and mistreated in their old age.

Today it is Mai Jilimba. Tomorrow it could be any one of us.

Veteran actress Mai Jilimba has spent seven years building her home, brick by brick, from the money she made making Zimbabwe laugh, cry and think.

Now, the house stands still. Not for lack of cement or roofing, but for lack of roads, electricity and sewer. She needs US$11,000.

When she made her appeal, the internet judged.

It is that judgement that made musician Baba Harare stop and speak.

"This should not be viewed in isolation. It reflects the difficulties many artists face when their careers slow down," he said.

He is right. And the graveyard proves it.

Where were we when Nicolas Zacharia was struggling? When Chinx Chingaira, the voice of liberation died with little to show for anthems that defined a nation? When Lazarus Boora, our Gringo, who made the whole country laugh, died poor?

And it is not just musicians and actors, even our great writers are made poor.

Authors who wrote textbooks that educated a nation now watch their books pirated on every street.

Schools no longer buy books. They buy heavy-duty photocopiers and print one copy for 200 students.

Piracy has become institutionalized, and Government intends to ignore it, if not normalising it.

Where do the royalties go? Zimbabwe has laws. We have ZIMURA and the National Arts Council. But on the ground, what do artists get?

A song plays on radio 100 times, but the cheque after 6 months cannot buy groceries. No transparent formula. No audited account. No policy on digital royalties.

For actors like Mai Jilimba, it is worse. A drama made 15 years ago can be replayed 50 times on ZBC, but the actor gets zero residuals.

The solution is not just jail, Not only jailing, but confiscating their equipment and tools used to commit these crimes on the magnitude of the offence.

And if those fines go to the author, it will be a healing pill for bleeding hearts.

My formula

When a culprit is found with 200 counterfeit copies, he must pay 200 multiplied by the selling price of the original copy, and that money must go DIRECTLY to the author.

If you pirate 200 books at $20 each, you pay $4,000 to the writer. Not to the State. To the writer. That is deterrence. That is justice.

And now the final question, that nails it all

Who wrote our National Anthem? Prof. Solomon Mutswairo and Fred Changundega. Chosen in 1994 from over 500 entries.

Their song is sung every single day. At every school assembly. On ZBC. At Heroes Acre. At every Warriors match. The most performed work in Zimbabwean history.

Does the State still pay royalties to their families? No. They were paid a once-off prize and that was it. Prof. Mutswairo died in 2005.

If the authors of our national identity are not worthy of royalties, what hope does Mai Jilimba have?

That is why Mai Jilimba is begging for US$11,000 today. Because in Zimbabwe, we have perfected the art of loving the art, but letting the artist die as a beggar.

Do we love only the art, or do we also love the artist?

Siphosami Ndlovu is a seasoned performing artist, author, arts director and producer.