More than 2 000 artists have signed a petition to have the Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa removed. They say he has failed the entertainment industry.

They accuse the minister of being out of touch and lacking vision, among other things.

They say their pleas are being ignored.

The last straw that broke the camel’s back is a tweet in which Mthethwa claimed theatre is alive and well.

“It’s really about a growing frustration over time that has reached its threshold,” said Malika Ndlovu, a writer and performance poet.

“We are calling for a replacement of leadership because we feel that obviously leadership plays a fundamental role in seeing that a department fulfils its mandate and that there are effective management and implementation processes that happen.”

Ndlovu said the department operates in a way that has not served the sector before COVID-19 “and even less so now”.