In Their Own Words: Axed Generations Actors Speak Out.

The fired cast of Generations spoke for the first time about their grievances and position in the on going moral and legal battle with the SABC and MMSV. The actors who collectively call themselves Generations Actors Guild, called on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to stop condemning black talent to a life of poverty. 

Together with their lawyer, they held a briefing at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg to discuss their salaries and working conditions... boy did they have a lot to say. These are some of the statements made by the cast members; 

• Patrick Shai (Patrick Tlaole)

Patrick Shai emphasized that the information shared by MMSV and SABC at their press conference was "Blatant Lies" 

“Lies have short legs that run very fast but do not cover ground.”  

"Mfundi can come and show you bricks in my house that I built with his money, I cant count NOT even one" 

"My problem is that I am allergic to poverty"

• Sophie Ndaba ( Queen Moroka)

A confident Ndada acknowledged that she is a star but she is not unreasonable or expecting to be treated like a Hollywood star. She said she is a 'Southwood star' and as such deserves to reap the benefit of being a Mzansi star as other people are profiting from her stardom. 

“You can crush somebody when they have done something bad but you must also commend them when they have done something good. We are not here to crush, we are here to share facts. You can’t give someone 0 and 2 percent and someone else 20 percent.” 

"What we are doing is not designed to destroy Mfundi Vundla. I would not be where I am if it wasn't for him. Everything has been done with a sense of respect but what is wrong is wrong and what's right is right."

The actress said that the Guild were not trying to “sabotage something they loved so much”, nor were they out to get the show’s creator Mfundi Vundla. 

“Vundla made Queen. He made me. I respect him,” she said. “But even a child sometimes corrects her father.”

• Nambitha Mpumlwa

Nambitha Mpumlwana who plays Mawande on the show expressed that revealing their salaries to the public was a violation of their privacy. 

" Is there anyone here who would like for their salary to be exposed so publicly?" 

”Twenty five per cent of our salary goes to tax. Fifteen percent of that gross goes to agents. R55 000 then becomes about R30-odd thousand.” 

“We are private individuals,” Nambitha said, after admitting she sometimes struggled to put food on the table. ”It’s embarrassing that we have to stand here and reveal our lives.” 

“That R55 000 for Sophie Ndaba who has worked on a production for 21 years is pittance.”

• Menzi Ngubane

Ngubane, known to fans as Sibusiso Dlomo finally addressed Mfundi Vundla's claims to the media that on one occasion he had to cover medical bills at a private clinic for an actor with a brain clot. Ngubane revealed that Vundla was in fact referring to him and was not entirely honest about the matter.

“It was a Thursday when I got discharged from Helen Joseph and I got a call sheet on Friday (as weak as I was after spending seven weeks in hospital) to say that I was working on Monday. It did not mean anything. The important thing for them was for me to get back to work.

“I woke up on that Monday and went to work. I had to be given a chair to sit whenever we went on standby during the shooting because I was still recovering. In my condition, I still did six to ten scenes a day, " 

• Zikhona Sodlaka (Priska Nomvete)

"White actors get treated better than black actors," 

“White actors have their own individual room while black actors have to share dressing rooms. 

"There is a lot of respect given to white people in comparison to black "We have separate rooms for black day actors and white day actors,” 

• Winnie Ntshaba (Khethiwe Buthelezi)

"A child I worked with died and nobody seemed to care. I had to ask to go to the funeral because we were not allowed to go. That child who played Mpilo started working with me when she was just few months old.  

I went to the funeral but only stayed for the church service because I was expected to come back to work. I got to work and was expected to bond with a new baby"

• Slindile Nodangala ( Ruby Dikobe)

"The problem that the SABC has right now is that, if they change the contracts for us, they will have to change them for every actor working for an SABC show"

What was evident from this press conference is that these actors are wounded but not willing to lie and die. They are resolute in seeing a change, not only for themselves but the industry at large.