by Thinus Ferreira
The South African public broadcaster is silent on workers of its SABC2 Venda weekday soap Muvhango again allegedly not being paid - this time, various background actors who say they were booked and appeared on the show through Turning Heads Casting Agency.
The troubled show that has not been renewed for another season and is produced by the embattled Duma Ndlovu's Word of Mouth Pictures, has a very long history of not paying cast and crew, and paying late.
The Turning Heads Casting Agency is owned by Nonkululeko Ndlovu, the daughter of Duma Ndlovu. Turning Heads Casting Agency couldn't be reached for comment.
The SABC didn't respond to a media query TVwithThinus made earlier this week.
According to background actors who have worked on Muvhango and who have been waiting for over seven months to get paid, Nonkululeko Ndlovu's email no longer accepts messages and they also allege that they have been blocked on Whatsapp from contacting her further.
Actors said they will go and do a public protest at the SABC's headquarters in Auckland Park in Johannesburg if they are not paid.
This will be similar to a public demonstration that took place in December 2024 by Muvhango background actors, also about not having been paid.
The SABC has not renewed the struggling Muvhango on SABC2 after its current 26th season which is due to run out in June.
Last year Muvhango was given another one-year contract which also only happened after the show's contract ran out and it was effectively cancelled. The SABC and Word of Mouth Productions agreed to bring it back for one more season, but done cheaper.
Muvhango is set to be replaced by something called Pimville Queens, produced by Bakwena Productions of Kagiso Modupe, Rashaka "Rush" Moufhe and Brenda Mukwevho, that has similarly had problems and not paid everyone involved with its Pound 4 Pound drama series for Paramount Africa's BET Africa (DStv 129) channel.