The recent announcement by Busara Promotions — the organisers of the annual Sauti za Busara music festival in Zanzibar — that they will not hold East Africa’s premier cultural event in 2016 came as a shock to music lovers. Lack of funding has been blamed for the cancellation of the event.

Sauti za Busara, which means “Sounds of Wisdom” in Kiswahili, is held every year in February in Stone Town, Zanzibar. About 5,000 people attend the four-day festival daily.

The festival has activities such as live music shows at old forts, amphitheatres and other historic buildings; movie screenings, fashion shows and networking events for those in the entertainment industry.

“Due to a shortage of funding, Busara Promotions has reluctantly announced their decision to cancel the 2016 edition of Sauti za Busara,” said Busara Promotions in a press statement, adding that it is the first time in 13 years that the international music festival will not be held.

“The decision was not taken lightly. We set ourselves a target of raising $200,000 before July, which is when we hoped to announce dates for Sauti za Busara 2016. We extended our deadline to August 19 but we were only able to raise $42,000,” said Yusuf Mahmoud, the chief executive officer of Busara Promotions, adding, “Selling tickets for Sauti za Busara was never a problem, but these only cover 30 per cent of the festival costs.”

“The cancellation of Sauti za Busara next year is unfortunate. It will result in unemployment and lost earnings from tourism, performances, advertising and production,” said Julius Lugaaya, founder and director of the Dance Week Uganda Festival in Kampala.

“Festivals celebrate the local culture; they give artists and music professionals opportunities to meet and learn from each other; they keep traditions alive and create employment. However, since 2004, we have not had any financial support from the government in Zanzibar, Tanzania or from the East African Community and support from donors, embassies and commercial sponsors has reached an all-time low,” said Mr Mahmoud.

“The Busara Board and management will work hard to ensure the festival resumes in 2017. This could mean moving its location or making it a biennial event,” said Mr Mahmoud.

In its Creative Economy Report 2013, Unesco singles out financing as the major challenge facing the creative economy in the developing world. “An additional issue in developing countries is that so much of the funding for cultural and creative industries comes from development co-operation budgets of countries in the global North and not from local governments,” says Unesco.

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Stakeholders in Africa argue that relying on donor support is not productive or sustainable in the long run.