MONDAY EDITION |  UMRHABULO, POLICY & PUBLIC DISCOURSE DECOLONISATION SHOULD START WITH THE Z83 FORM This article was born out of a simple, friendly conversation with a respected arts administrator and colleague. What began as casual reflection quickly turned into a deeper interrogation of the systems that govern us — the systems we participate in daily, yet rarely question. That discussion led us to something as ordinary as the Z83 form — a document so familiar, yet so unexplored. Perhaps someone out there knows more. Perhaps there is context we have missed. If so, we welcome correction and insight. This is not a declaration — it is an invitation. Because real transformation begins when we are brave enough to ask uncomfortable questions about the systems we have long taken for granted. We speak loudly about decolonisation. We challenge statues. We interrogate curricula. We critique policy language. But there is one document almost every South African has encountere...

  MONDAY EDITION |  UMRHABULO, POLICY & PUBLIC DISCOURSE Rethinking the Role of Academics in the Cultural and Creative Industries By Thami akaMbongo Manzana  South Africa does not suffer from a lack of research, data, or intellectual capacity in the Cultural and Creative Industries. What we suffer from is a failure to place knowledge at the centre of decision-making, activism, and sector reform. We need passionate academics to take centre stage — not as background consultants, not as footnotes in reports, but as active advocates for the betterment of the Cultural and Creative Industries. The uncomfortable question is: why are they so often sidelined? When Institutions Use Academics Selectively Institutions know exactly how to use academics when it suits them. They are consulted when: • Data is needed for Parliament • Reports are required for Treasury • Monitoring and evaluation must be justified • Policy documents need academic weight But how often are academics truly...

MONDAY EDITION |  UMRHABULO, POLICY & PUBLIC DISCOURSE Time to Decolonise the Cultural Institutions Act of 1998 — Without Fear or Favour By Thami akaMbongo Manzana  In 1998, South Africa stood at the edge of political transition. The Cultural Institutions Act was born in a moment of compromise, continuity, and caution. It sought to stabilise institutions inherited from apartheid while slowly transforming their governance. Nearly three decades later, in 2026 , the question we must ask is no longer why the Act was written the way it was — but why it has not been fundamentally reviewed since . If we are serious about redress, decolonisation, and transformation , then the Cultural Institutions Act of 1998 must be placed under the same critical lens applied to other post-apartheid legislation.  This review must be honest, unapologetic, and courageous . The Core Problem: Transformation Without Structural Disruption While the Act introduced representative councils and board...

What Was Adopted, What It Means, and Why the Sector Must Re-engage MONDAY EDITION |  UMRHABULO, POLICY & PUBLIC DISCOURSE By Thami akaMbongo Manzana South Africa’s arts, culture and heritage sector has for many years spoken about the Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage —often with uncertainty, frustration, and at times confusion about its actual status, implications and impact. Yet this policy document remains one of the most important instruments shaping how the state views, governs and funds arts, culture and heritage in the democratic era. This article seeks to unpack what the Revised White Paper is, when it was approved and adopted, what it meant after adoption, and why practitioners and institutions must critically re-engage with it today .                       Image: DSAC Logo      (Source: www.gov.za) From 1996 to Now: Why a Revised White Paper Was Necessary The original White Paper...

MONDAY EDITION |  UMRHABULO, POLICY & PUBLIC DISCOURSE Why Arts & Culture Can No Longer Be an “Add-On” Ministry in South Africa By Thami akaMbongo Manzana | The Creative Passport  Image: Dr Ben Ngubane    (Source: www.gov.za) Since 1994, South Africa’s Arts and Culture sector has rarely stood on its own. It has been paired, merged, absorbed and repositioned alongside other government priorities — first with Science & Technology, later with Sport — often to its detriment. This structural instability has come at a cost: weak regulation, inconsistent policy implementation, fragile labour protections, and an arts ecosystem forced to survive on goodwill rather than law. If 1994 marked political freedom, then 2026 must mark regulatory freedom for the Cultural and Creative Industries. Image: Lionel Mtshali (Source: www.gov.za) A HISTORY OF MERGERS — AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES Arts & Culture with Science & Technology u nder Former Minister Ben Ngubane...

                             Image: DSAC Logo     (Source: DSAC)  MONDAY EDITION |  UMRHABULO, POLICY & PUBLIC DISCOURSE HOW CORRUPTION IS NORMALISED IN SOUTH AFRICA’S CULTURAL & CREATIVE INDUSTRIES By Thami akaMbongo Manzana |  The Creative Passport There is a disease quietly eating away at the Cultural and Creative Industries in South Africa — and many are too afraid, too exhausted, or too compromised to name it. Let us be clear from the outset: It is ILLEGAL for adjudication panel members, council members, government officials, or employees of public entities to demand payment, favours, percentages, or “gratitude” from funding beneficiaries. Yet it happens. Repeatedly. Systemically. Brazenly. And everyone knows.                            Image: MGE Logo      (Source: DSAC)  WHEN ADJUDICAT...