Jacob Zuma: Record deal in tatters as eThekwini mayor forced to step in

Jacob Zuma’s burgeoning music career is over before it even got going. At the turn of the year, the eThekwini Municipality’s Thembinkosi Ngcobo was making a lot of noise about the council ploughing R20 million into a record deal which would see Msholozi record a series of struggle songs.

The project was heralded as a celebration of culture, but the bizarre episode seems to have run out of bluster already. The DA have put significant pressure on the regional ANC to explain their actions, especially as such a huge sum of money would have to be diverted from the performing arts budget that’s meant to go to ordinary citizens.

Jacob Zuma: Record deal dead in the water

As EWN report, Zandile Gumede is the mayor of eThekwini. He addressed the media at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Tuesday, and denied that any funding had been granted to the project:

“Unfortunately we read about this in the news like everybody else. Nobody took us into confidence about this project. This is something that does not exist, so we should not use it to drag the former president’s name through the mud”

Zandile Gumede

eThekwini mayor ends the madness

And, with that, South Africa’s answer to Jay-Z – also named JZ – will not become a recording artist on the taxpayers’ tab. Despite images being shared of Ngcobo and Jacob Zuma signing the papers, it seems that things didn’t get any further than a photo opportunity.

Nicole Graham is the DA’s caucus leader in eThekwini. On Monday, she slammed the ANC-run district for their “inconsistencies” over this album. As proved by Gumede’s denial, it would seem the metro is singing from two completely different hymn sheets.

Ngcobo is the Head of Parks in eThekwini and recently came under fire for approving the development of a R25 million statue in the municipality. He would have needed to secure funding for the proposed record deal by gaining the council’s approval first – something that now looks highly unlikely.