The City did not dictate the date and the decision by the KKKA to host the Cape Town Street Parade carnival on 4 January 2020 was made in good faith to observe and respect the Islamic holy days, says the writer. Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency (ANA)

Cape Town – The City of Cape Town (COCT) commends the sentiments expressed in the opinion piece by Fatima Shabodien, and published on IOL on 17 January 2020, about the value and cultural importance of the Minstrels’ Carnival in Cape Town. It is only a pity that we once again have to correct the misinformation regarding the City’s support for the event.

The DA-run City of Cape Town has spent more than R22 million on Minstrels, Cape Malay Choirs and Christmas Bands over the last five years. This shows the biggest financial and logistics support for the event since its inception. 

Over the same period the City has also provided support in the form of City services including safety and security, cleansing, disaster risk management at a cost to the City. In addition, the cost for the use of City facilities has been waived in support of these organisations. 

It is therefore factually incorrect to publish that the ANC last spent the most money on the event in 2004. 

The minstrels events of the last few years has been the best supported ever by government with a budget five times bigger than the ANC was willing to pinch off. The last two or three years has seen the largest spectator numbers and This year we saw the first substantial corporate sponsorship ever, signaling that the festival had finally come into its own and was approaching financial independence and good health.