BEPA warns of Fly-by night promoters

Chippa Legodimo | Tuesday October 21, 2014 16:33

Musicians and entertainment business people are not prone to these festive scams. The Botswana Entertainment Promoters Association (BEPA) has warned the public of some fly-by night promoters who promise big shows but never deliver.

BEPA public relations officer, Gilbert ‘PP’ Seagile, told Showbiz that his association is concerned by fly-by night promoters, whose dodgy deeds who paint all promoters in a negative light.

“People should understand that the entertainment industry has a big role to play in advancing the country’s tourism sector. It is not just about guitars and boraskanta and mmaskanta as some view it. There is a need to ensure that it is kept squeaky clean. Some time ago, one promoter had promised to bring popular Kwaito act Mzekezeke, but later posed as the artist. That was uncalled for. It tarnished image of promoters and the tourist hub,” Seagile said. He was referring to an incident in 2004 when the late Afro-pop sensation Dwilila Mothosi popularly known as Bull Dog was alleged to have posed as Mzekezeke after the South African musician failed to appear at a show in Maun. At the time, Mothosi denied both charges. Ironically, the voluble musician later released a song Ba Mpitsa Mzekezeke in which he poked of the allegations. Although, it is not mandatory by law for all promoters to join BEPA, Seagile said that it was important for those who want to be taken seriously as promoters to join the association.

“It is also important for companies and individuals who want to host events to deal with only those promoters registered with BEPA because should something happen it would be easy to trace the promoter. We all know of supposedly big events, which have failed to materialise and in some instances people would have already purchased tickets. These events would have been handled by armatures,” he said. He said BEPA had a code of conduct, which all members have to adhere to and that any individual who breaks the regulations is subjected to a fine or suspension.

“So people should dig deeper before agreeing with any promoter and check if that person is registered with us. We also encourage musicians to do the same because they have also fallen victim to the scams. But I have to say in some instances it is simply lack of professionalism that leads to shows being cancelled in the last minute and not necessarily that the promoter had wanted to milk people of their money,” he said. Seagile also noted that one of the problems they have identified was that of musicians signing contracts that they do not understand hence they encourage musicians to bring the agreements to BEPA for scrutiny before signing.

BEPA is in the process of consulting with other stake holders such as Botswana Musicians Union(BOMU) and the Copy Right Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) on how best to tackle the problem that besiege the local music industry.

Seagile also indicated that their ultimate goal was to convince government to come up with a legislation to regulate music and event promotion in Botswana.

“We believe this is necessary because we are talking about many lives here. Imagine if chaos erupted because a certain promoter had promised to bring a big star and he does not show up. People could be killed or seriously injured and what does that to the image of the country,” he said.