The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on eThekwini Municipality to support scores of talented but impoverished artists within its jurisdiction instead of ploughing funding into a music album that will feature former president Jacob Zuma.

“Why is the municipality bending over backwards to please this man instead of focusing on the people of KwaZulu-Natal who need jobs?” DA MP and shadow minister of communications, Phumzile van Damme, said on Monday.

Van Damme was speaking to African News Agency (ANA) after completing a tour of the BAT Centre, just off Victoria Embankment, in Durban’s small craft harbour. The centre is a platform for artists to exhibit and sell their work, collaborate and train or offer training.

“I am very impressed with the work the BAT Centre does. It is a great platform for young people to showcase their arts and relay skills, particularly for students who have not been accepted at university for arts. The centre upskills them so that they can be accepted into university.”

She said that while the centre usually received just over R1-million in funding from the city, this was not the case in 2018. “This raises the issue of the municipality and its music deal with Jacob Zuma,” she said.

The DA would write to the department of arts and culture to ascertain why the annual funding had been cut, she said.

The municipality raised eyebrows early in January when it confirmed that it had approached Zuma to record an album of “struggle songs”, which would be financed through its arts and culture department, in order to “preserve history”.

The department has an annual budget of about R25-million, but it remains unclear how much of this would be dedicated to the album.

"If eThekwini goes ahead with the proposed funding of Zuma’s record deal, it will be seen as an act of corruption, and we will be forced to take action that comes with combatting acts of corruption, and call for those facilitating these corrupt activities to be prosecuted leading to 15 years in prison. The theft of the people’s money cannot be treated with kid gloves," said Van Damme.

The municipality was further criticised when it revealed that one artist had won a tender to create two massive statues – of Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela – that would be housed somewhere in the eThekwini jurisdiction.

The tender is worth R20-million and according to the municipality, would encourage “black unity”.

“That R20-million could have been used to create so many opportunities for young people. It could have been used at the BAT Centre or at other projects for artists or musicians that don’t have resources, instead of for vanity projects,” Van Damme told ANA.