Artists Silent now is Over

 

TO ALL CREATIVES ACROSS UGANDA

Fellow creatives,

The time for silence is over.

We have walked this road before—countless meetings, endless waiting, empty promises, and the familiar words: “we shall call you.” We organized, we mobilized, we engaged, and we believed. Yet today, the truth is clear and painful: the creative industry has received nothing.

Funds announced in our name continue to bypass us. The recently released SACCO list does not reflect creative SACCOs—it favors general or individual SACCOs that creatives cannot access. This is not support; this is exclusion disguised as empowerment.

We have seen this pattern before:

Women Grow Fund
Youth Livelihood Programme
COVID-19 relief funds

They were announced publicly, but real beneficiaries struggled to access them. Even banks claimed ignorance. History is repeating itself—and we refuse to be silent participants.

OUR CLEAR DEMAND

If the Government of Uganda truly intends to support and grow the creative industry, Creative Revolving Fund (CURF) money must be channeled directly into Creative SACCOs.

There are over 12 creative SACCOs that were:

Inspected
Verified
Recognized

by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in collaboration with the National Cultural Forum (NCF).

These SACCOs represent creatives. They understand creatives. They are accessible to creatives.

Routing CURF funds through non-creative SACCOs, some operating in only one district and unreachable to most creatives, defeats the very purpose of CURF.

A DIRECT APPEAL

Hon. Betty Amongi,
Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development,

You are among us. You understand our struggle. You are entrusted with the mandate of disbursement. We respectfully but firmly call upon you to direct CURF funds into Creative SACCOs, where they will truly uplift the creative sector.

This is not confrontation—this is accountability.

TO OUR INSTITUTIONS

NCF’s silence at this critical moment is unacceptable. Silence is not neutrality—it is complicity. This is the time to stand with creatives, not observe from the sidelines.

A CALL TO ACTION

Fellow creatives:

Speak out
Share this message
Demand transparency
Demand consultation
Demand inclusion

If we do not stand now, history will repeat itself—and creatives will once again be left behind while others eat from the national pie.

Together we are stronger.
The struggle continues.
This is our moment to push—hard.

Katabazi George
President, Western Uganda Film Producers Association (WUFPA)
wufpa2017@gmail.com

On behalf of creatives advocating for fairness, inclusion, and justice