"I'd rather be a tailor"

Artists close to the Frelimo party in the northern province of Nampula are complaining that they have not been paid for their performances over the 45-day long electoral campaign which brought the party and Filipe Nyusi to power.A considerable number of artists, including musicians, say they have still not been paid for performances given during the 2014 election campaign.Belo dos Santos, known as "3C" and with a 12-year artistic career behind him, confesses that he has not returned to the stage because he is disappointed with the government attitude and particularly with Frelimo who he says have deceived him several times."I stopped recording new songs a long time ago. I lost the will. There has to be that will for the musician to continue to give his best. I feel like I am screaming, but to no avail. I prefer being a tailor."The artist says that if he ever goes back to recording, it will be for him and his family.Germano Ernesto, popularly known as Nico, says Frelimo made promises to him too, but they turned out to be false."The campaign is over and we are waiting for the 'big cake' that had been promised. We musicians did not get to make demands about what kind of 'cake', but we understood that this ‘gift’ would be the sound system. When the campaign ended, the current governor of Sofala province, Helena Taipo [then head of the Frelimo electoral office in Nampula City] went off without telling us anything."Nico also said that the former Labour Minister was forced, after a prolonged peaceful strike held last February by 40 musicians, to sign a check for 100,000 meticais (about 2088 euros), to honour the commitments made by the party with the artists who participated in several activities in the run up to elections."I got 4,000 meticais for 45 days work, when usually I get at least 5,000 meticais for a show," Nico laments.The musicians say they will not press Frelimo for payment. Nico explains: "Things are already boiling because – I cannot hide it, we musicians are already being conquered [by the opposition]."Germano Ernesto believes that the Frelimo government has contributed to the depreciation of Mozambican culture precisely because of this lack of incentives. "People no longer listen to Nampula music. The people have started to listen to Angolan music. There was a time when Nampula music was strong, but it declined because they did not embrace the musician himself. Musicians need affection," Ernesto says.Leonel Namuquita, however, Frelimo first secretary in Nampula city, neither confirms nor denies any conflict between his party and the artists, but says that problems are being solved gradually."I believe that the commitments will be met. We cannot deflect attention from the 2015-2019 five-year program. There are priorities. So this is the challenge for the wellbeing of the people of the city of Nampula," says NamuquitaLast week, at least 13 musicians protested outside the Nampula district government building, demanding payment for a show celebrating Independence Day in June.