Background actors on the SABC1 drama series have spoken out against the non-payment of fees for their appearances on the popular South African show, which they say has been going on for months.
In an interview with Sunday World, a source said that they had been patiently waiting for the payment of their monies for months, with casting agency boss Ncami Mageza withholding wages for unspecified reasons.
“We were hired by a casting agency called Mageza, which is owned by Ncami Mageza. Her role is to get extras for Uzalo. There are more than 50 of us and we all have not been paid.
“Some of us started working for her as early as March, while others only started work two months ago, but none of us have been paid. We tried to talk to her [Mageza], asking when she will pay us, but she became rude and refused to give answers,” the source said.
A meeting with the management of the drama series did not bring the actors any joy as Mageza reportedly failed to turn up.
“For this reason, we engaged Uzalo management and asked them to intervene. The meeting yielded no results because Mageza did not attend it,” said the source.
Another actor revealed that the extras did not have any written contracts with the casting agency, which made them easy targets.
“I’ve been working as an extra for three months and I have never signed any contract,” said the actor.
“Everything was done verbally. When she [Mageza] needs me to be on set, I’d receive a call to go on set. I guess the absence of a written contract made us easy targets for her.”
Mageza and Uzalo spokesperson, Nomfundo Zondi, are yet to respond to the allegations.
In August 2018, Uzalo, South Africa’s biggest telenovela, officially halted production for the time being amid issues with non-payment from the cash-strapped SABC.
With a viewership tally of 9.1 million at the time, the soap has proved a TV staple among many South Africans since it first made its debut in 2015.
