Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation (ADEG) executive director Gideon Musonda has urged Zambians to stop punishing artists for performing at political events, stating that musicians have a right to associate with any political party and should not lose business opportunities.
Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business TimesZBT, Musonda said artists are professionals operating in a business environment and should be free to engage with whoever seeks their services.
“Artists are in business and they can engage into business activities with whoever they choose to for purposes of promoting their ideals. If it means a political party may want to promote its messages through a performance, that’s the freedom they should exercise and also take advantage of,” he said.
He said artists should not be labelled partisan or denied opportunities simply because they have performed for a particular political party.
“If the cancellation of a planned event is based on the accusation of him being partisan because he performed for a particular political party, for us, we feel that is extremely unfair,” said musonda “Their job should not be affected. They are also voters and active participants in the electoral process.”
Musonda said artists, like all citizens, have a right to freedom of association and should not be punished for exercising that right. “So whether they choose to associate with a particular political party, that is fine. Their job should not be affected. It’s their right to associate and that right to association shouldn’t be punished,” he said.
He noted that artists often become victims of political divisions after elections despite simply carrying out their professional responsibilities. “We know that every after election there are casualties where government that wins looks at people who supported the opposition. I think what is important is to realise that artists are in an industry and they need to make money,” he said. “Whoever comes across in terms of promotion through their performances, I think those are opportunities that shouldn’t be missed.”
“The ugly face of a situation that we’ve repeatedly seen where artists are punished after an election should come to an end. Let’s support the artists and not crucify them based on whom they performed for,” he said.
He said political players should instead compete for artists’ services rather than seek to exclude them. “The competition should be about if you need this artist to perform for you, then make a better offer for the artist to perform for the other. Let’s allow them to exercise their right to associate through the performances that they do,” said Musonda.
He added that election periods often present important income-generating opportunities for artists due to increased political activities. “They should realize that this is the prime time for them to make money because politicians have got a lot of engagements and they would want to use them. So it’s extremely important that we respect that,” he said.
Article Francine Chibuye
