After Listening to SAGA at AFDA Johannesburg — The Sector Has No Excuse to Stay Silent By Thami aka Mbongo Manzana On the 17 February 2026 at AFDA Johannesburg, I did not hear a radical demand. I heard a sober, well-argued, legally grounded call for clarity. After listening carefully to the presentation by the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) , I left convinced of one thing: this is not an actors-only issue. It is a sector-wide turning point. And if we fail to engage now — if we fail to submit inputs, attend meetings, and support structured reform — we will once again allow decisions about our industry to be shaped without us.                       Image  Source: SAGA The Problem We Have Normalised For years, creative workers have operated in contradiction. We are called “independent contractors,” yet: We are directed. We are controlled by production schedules. We are bound by contracts we often have no power to negotiate....

  This Is Not a Routine Notice — It Is a Turning Point Why Every Creative Practitioner Must Submit and Attend On 23 January 2026 , the Department of Employment and Labou r published a notice proposing to deem performers in advertising, artistic and cultural activities as employees for purposes of key labour legislation in South Africa. For many in the sector, this may sound like another government circular. It is not. It is a structural shift that could redefine contracts, budgets, working conditions, liability, and rights across the entire creative value chain. And the most important part of this process is happening now: public participation . Why Making a Submission Is Critical A written submission is not just a comment — it is a formal intervention in policy formation. When you submit, you: Influence the final wording of the law Protect your specific discipline’s interests Raise practical implementation challenges Propose workable solutions Place your concerns on official recor...

  A YEAR OF TRUTH, ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTION IN THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES Published as we cross into 2026 — your reflections help shape the year ahead As we step into 2026, it would be intellectually dishonest for  The Creative Passport  to offer a generic New Year greeting without confronting the realities that continue to shape — and in many ways suffocate — the Cultural and Creative Industries in South Africa and across the continent. Celebration without reflection becomes denial. Optimism without accountability becomes theatre. This platform was founded to document, question, analyse and amplify the lived experiences of practitioners operating in a sector rich in creativity and heritage, yet persistently undermined by weak regulation, delayed policy implementation, political opportunism and a culture that often punishes truth-tellers instead of protecting them. If 2026 is to mean anything, it must be a year where we move beyond statements and symbolism into...