Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Trust Khosa and Tatenda Chipungudzanye
4 April 2009
Harare — ALICK Macheso this week conceded that his 28-member Orchestra Mberikwazvo is over-staffed and the axe is looming on those considered excess baggage in the wake of reduced earnings from live shows.
This comes at a time his dancers have openly complained about the treatment they are getting at one of the most followed bands in the country.
Three of the dancers crossed the floor from veteran sungura artiste, Nicholas "Madzibaba" Zakaria and they have since realised that greener pastures are not always green while the other three had been with the band.
The dancers claim that they are being paid as little as US$40 on Mondays after a weekend of three shows, which translates to just US$13,33 per show.
The band is paid in a grading scale where lead guitarist and band leader Noel Nyazanda is top followed by guitarists Lucky Mumiriki (rhythm), Zakaria Zakaria (rhythm), Donald Gogo (lead), drummer Obert Gomba and dancer Joe Kasamba.
Dancer Francis "Slomo" Dhaka and Elton Muropa are next followed by assistant manager Jethro and the engineers Gololia Goliath and Morgan.
The dancers are last in a group that also includes drivers, cashiers and bouncers.
They also accuse band manager, William Tsandukwa of making their lives difficult especially when Macheso embarks on international tours where they do not take part.
The dancers believe that Tsandukwa is their main problem given that they literary starve when he is part of the group on international tours while Macheso at least gives them something on returning from tours that would not have included the manager.
Locally, they are being paid according to the time they spend on stage, which means they are virtually on an Earn as you Dance arrangement.
The dancers claim that even though they are at every venue from the start of the shows to the finish, they are barely called on stage where Francis "Slomo" Daka and Jonas Kasamba seem to be the main dancers.
As if that is not enough, the dancers are not happy that some of Macheso's relatives, who do not perform on stage, are on his payroll and pocket bonuses on pay days.
"Vapfana vaMacheso vari papayroll and they are in our grade yet some of them do nothing.
"It's also painful that they even boss us around yet they are not actively involved in the band," said one disgruntled dancer.
But Macheso was irked by the dancers' grumbles.
The sungura king says the dancers have run out of ideas on stage and that is why he has restricted them to minimal performances, adding that they should actually be grateful that they are still earning something from him.
"Uku ndiko kunonzi kudziyirwa manje uku, how can they say that?
"Naturally, I don't like talking too much because that's not what I am. The reason vachitamba nguva shoma is because vapererwa.
"In short, they have reached their peak and they are barren of new styles.
"We are just keeping them because they have been loyal to the band for sometime. Otherwise the majority of them cannot dance and people have been telling us to re-assign them or recruit better people."
Macheso also took the opportunity to highlight that not all international tours have been financially rewarding, which is why they have to travel with the smallest possible group.
"Regional and international tours are not all rosy if I may tell you. We once toured with the entire band and they saw what happened there.
"After all, these shows come with a lot of costs such that we incur big losses. Of course, we are a big band at home but at times we need to continue making our product known abroad through such shows.
"In a way, that's why we are taking few people out of the country because we know it is very expensive.
"In a nutshell, I am disappointed to hear that because I have done a lot for these guys. At the moment, I am training them to play guitars and they have started backing me during my shows where they play towards the end or as a band on their own but they can't appreciate that.
"I want them to start their things because there is always life after Macheso."
Tsandukwa was less diplomatic, telling the dancers to quit if they are not happy with the treatment they are getting.
"Ko vanotambeyiko chashamisira vafana ava?
"If they are fed up, they can leave us and it would not take us 10 seconds to get new people.
"These guys can't justify their presence, we could have replaced them. In fact, tanga tichitoshaya kuti tovadzinga seyi. These guys don't know the costs incurred in band management. They think it's all rosy.
"If I may brief you, at times we just go there for prestige and audience building. We might be big on home soil but abroad they don't know us hence the need to build a huge fan base but it comes with costs," he said.
Meanwhile, Alick Macheso renews his romance with sungura lovers in the United States of America sometime in August for a series for of live performances.
Macheso, who made history by being the first Zimbabwean sungura artiste to tour America last year, has been invited by the same promoters.
Tsandukwa said their American promoters had shown a lot of faith in them by extending the invitation.
"I was never expecting this to happen so soon. The guys (American promoters) still like our stuff and we are flying back to America in August.
"At the moment, I don't have finer details pertaining to show venues as the guys are still finalising on the issue. The invitation has also come at the right time when the band has been receiving a lot of international offers which means that our works are being appreciated the world over," he said.
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