By Kaya 959 Entertainment
Music mogul Chicco Twala is standing by a scathing open letter he wrote to Arthur Mafokate.
In the letter, Chicco labelled Arthur selfish and greedy for allegedly applying for the National Arts Council (NAC) grant.
The NAC has been supporting struggling artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But according to Chicco, successful musicians like Arthur should not be applying when there are artists who are more deserving.
Scathing open letter
“… queuing for [a] stimulus that is meant to benefit our struggling colleagues makes a mockery of your success.
“It’s practically not ethical to be asking for government COVID-19 relief assistance at the expense of our struggling colleagues when we both know we have enough resources to sustain ourselves during this pandemic,” Chicco wrote in his letter.
The music producer added that when Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced a stimulus for artists, he didn’t “expect people like Arthur” to be in the queue.
READ: Artists demand to know what happened to R300m COVID-19 relief fund
— Khaya Sithole (@CoruscaKhaya) March 19, 2021
Chicco added that he had seen some artists and their companies being approved for more than R5-million in funding.
“This fund is supposed to be a stimulus, not a get rich scheme.”
Arthur is yet to comment on Chicco’s letter.
“I don’t hate Arthur”
Chicco told the Daily Sun that he did not write the letter out of spite or jealousy. He also stressed that he does not hate Arthur.
He further claimed that whenever Arthur applies for funding, he gets it.
Despite Chicco’s tough stance, several people came to Arthur’s defence.
“But couldn’t Chicco convey this to Arthur via WhatsApp?” one Twitter user wrote.
Another tweet added: “But what if Arthur is actually broke and needs the money?”
A third person wrote: “I never understand this “OPEN LETTER” behaviour for people who claim to care for each other.. why not call him directly and speak mana to man.. why the Public Address?”
UPDATE: Arthur denies allegations
Arthur has hit back at the allegations. He denied having a relationship with former or current NAC board members.
The musician also denied reports that he received R10-million in funding from the NAC.
Read his statement below.



