Makhanda’s festival ‘the show that must go on’

“The show must go on” goes the chorus from the Queen hit of the same title, The show must go on.

And, it seems, that is exactly what will happen with the National Arts Festival (NAF) in Makhanda — for now, at least.

Despite concerns that service delivery challenges in the City of Saints are driving festival-goers away, organisers are confident the popular NAF will go ahead.

The Herald reported on Monday that civil rights movement Makana Citizens Front (MCF) had sent a petition with 22,000 signatures to the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa, pleading for the national government to intervene in the ongoing service delivery crisis.

Sections of the city have been left without water or have only had a sporadic supply for almost four months.

Raw sewage is flooding homes and forcing pupils to tip-toe past streams of filth en route to school.

And pothole-riddled streets paint yet another despairing picture of the decay.

The situation is so bad that actor and arts development activist Mandisi Sindo suggested it was time the NAF be held in other parts of the country.

But, said NAF chief executive Monica Newton, festival organisers were hard at work preparing for the 52nd edition of the festival, adding that these challenges had not got in the way previously.

And we hope Newton is right.

For more than five decades, the festival — described by Makhanda Business and Residents’ Association vice-chair Thomas Stone as “the heartbeat of the city’s economy and a vital platform for young, budding artists” — has provided a platform for creativity and expression.

Drawing thousands to the town, it has also played a significant role in the local economy every year, sustaining local businesses from accommodation establishments to restaurants.

The NAF — despite its name change, dropping Grahamstown — is to this region what the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) is to Oudtshoorn and other similar festivals around the country.

It is vital, for the future of the NAF, that role-players urgently address service delivery issues.

But, beyond that, residents deserve more than a well-run event that runs over a week and a bit; they deserve a functioning municipality able to restore the city to its former glory — and ensure it stays that way.