Post by Uche (@Dongalaxy)

South Africa's creative industry is facing a massive financial blow as artists see their bookings and live performance gigs cancelled across the African continent.

Speaking during a media briefing of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, openly admitted that the country's brand is taking a major hit due to ongoing outrage over anti-immigrant sentiment and vigilante violence.

Minister Kubayi confirmed that the government cannot ignore the continental pushback, revealing the direct impact on local performers:

"We can't lie about the backlash... Majority of South African artists perform on the continent, and many are seeing their gigs cancelled. So that's another impact of the work because they benefit quite a lot."

"One artist did reach out to me to say that all her gigs on the continent were cancelled. This is an income loss for South Africa. So the brand does get affected."

Minister Kubayi however revealed that the government is taking steps to shift the narrative and repair diplomatic relations. She also made a major call on communities to reject xenophobia.

“We are calling for vigilantism to be rejected by communities for attacks on foreign nationals... If we don't deal with this internally, it can also hurt us internally and externally," she said.

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