by Thinus Ferreira
The crew and cast of yet another South African TV show are struggling to
get paid, with Rhythm World Productions telling the workers of DStv's Umkhokha:
The Curse it has "cash flow" problems.
MultiChoice now says it will introduce stronger check-ups to ensure and
try and prevent that production companies making TV shows for DStv and that have
been paid, actually pay their workers.
While DStv subscribers are watching episodes of Umkhokha: The Curse on
MultiChoice's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) the cast and crew are struggling with not
being paid for their work by Duma Ndlovu's Rhythm World Productions.
Sadly they are hardly alone in what has become a troubling growing trend in South Africa's TV and film industry.
Just this year so far, Clive Morris of Clive Morris Productions (CMP)
defaulted on paying the crew and cast of Paramount Africa's Queendom on BET
(DStv 129) multiple times, while the crew and cast of the drama series Pound 4
Pound, produced by Kagiso Modupe's Bakwena Productions, are also fighting with Kagiso Modupe to just get paid for the show which is also being broadcast on BET.
Paramount Africa says it has paid its part of the costs and it is the
production companies of these shows who have not paid the crews and casts.
Meanwhile, workers on SABC2's Muvhango, produced by Duma Ndlovu's Word
of Mouth Pictures, also struggled to get paid after the show restarted production for the SABC after it got a new contract.
After not getting paid at the end of October, without any explanation,
Rhythm World Productions told the crew and cast of Umkhokha: The Curse last week there is
a "cash flow" problem.
Nobukhosi Ndlovu, Rhythm World Productions CEO, told workers in a
"October 2024 payments" letter "This memo serves to inform you
of a delay in the end of October payments due to a challenge with cash
flow".
"Please be advised that payments will be affected as soon as the
funds are received. Kindly accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience
caused. We further note the level of stress that the late notification may
cause."
According to insiders, MultiChoice executives are livid over Rhythm
World Productions defaulting on properly paying the Umkhokha cast and crew on
time and keeping it a secret, while MultiChoice has fully paid the production
company.
Earlier this year MultiChoice was also initially not aware of the
struggle of the crew and cast of Paramount Africa's Pound 4 Pound trying to get
paid by Kagiso Modupe who has still not done so.
He is now facing legal action
from the workers who have had to sell gear to survive and have lost
accommodation over their failure to pay rent.
MultiChoice and Mzansi Magic in response to a media query over the
Umkhokha: The Curse crew and cast waiting to get paid, told TVwithThinus "We at MultiChoice
and Mzansi Magic take the welfare of everyone who brings our stories to life
very seriously, including the cast and crew on all our productions".
"It is troubling to hear about any delays or difficulties in
receiving payments, as we are committed to supporting the livelihoods of all
involved."
"We understand that the timely payment of cast and crew members is
essential, and we are actively addressing any payment delays through close
collaboration with our production partners."
"We require all production companies
we work with to meet industry standards, including fair treatment and timely
payments for their teams."
"While we are aware of recent instances where cast and crew members
have experienced hardship, please know that we are closely monitoring these
situations and working to implement stronger checks and accountability
mechanisms with our production partners to prevent these issues from happening
in the future."
