Nina Roz has voiced her disapproval of Ugandan artists accepting government money. Recently, the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) received UGX. 13 billion from the government. This sum was distributed among the top leadership of the federation.
Nina Roz questions the motivation behind accepting free money. She argues that artists should be fighting for copyright law instead. “Why would they give us this money? They should grant us the copyright law because then, we will be able to benefit from our craft. They should stop giving us handouts because we are not starving,” Nina Roz stated.
She emphasized that the government’s capacity should focus on long-term solutions for artists. “If they wanted to give us the copyright, they would not even wait for us to form this federation, they would have just passed it. We are fighting for this because we want our people to gain from our sweat. But they are not making our job any easier yet our government has the capacity to do so,” she added.
Nina Roz was an early member of the federation and served as the chief whip. However, she resigned for personal reasons. Nina Roz expressed hope that the received funds by Ugandan artists would be used responsibly. “If they got the money, we hope they use the money responsibly. My own issue is them receiving free handouts from the government,” she mentioned.
Eddy Kenzo responded to Nina Roz’s claims, suggesting she was seeking attention. He noted, “Nina Roz wants to contest for a parliamentary seat and this is the only way for her to gain popularity to get more votes.”
