BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – Newly appointed Executive Director of the Copyright Society Mmeli Nhlaze has vowed to work hard to make sure the Secretariat delivers.
“With regards to the appointment, firstly, I would love to thank the Honourable Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, the Intellectual Property Office and the Eswatini Copyright Society Board for entrusting us with such a significant task of helping to commercialise the creative sector through Copyright administration,”
“It is a mammoth task, especially considering how novel this is to our country but the Secretariat will work tirelessly to deliver. We ask for patience, collaboration and support from all stakeholders in the creative sector as these will be key ingredients in our recipe for success,” said Hlanze.
Hlanze is known in the industry as one of the leading pioneers.
Mmeli Hlanze is a chemical engineer with a passion for entrepreneurship and music, which propelled him into the arts and cultural industry.
Hlanze is the co-founder and director of Antidote Music, an Eswatini-based digital music and entertainment start-up tailored to assist emerging and established artists. He was selected to participate in the 2019 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program for young African entrepreneurs.
His talent development and management techniques have earned him and his artists various national awards within the arts and culture industry.
As a dedicated advocate for copyright literacy in Eswatini, Mmeli has empowered Eswatini artists through workshops and discussions on intellectual property management. After completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, Mmeli plans to continue his work to defeat poverty and youth unemployment and to grow the economy through a sustainable arts and culture industry.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade (MCIT) previously introduced to the public the Board Members of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Society, which is an entity tasked with determining copyright royalties rates, collecting and distributing copyright royalties to the rightful owners amongst other functions under the Copyright And Neighbouring Rights Act of 2018.
The Copyright Act and will directly engage stakeholders and members of the public mainly on issues of copyright royalties. An event has been planned for the Honourable Minister of MCIT to unveil members of the Copyright Society Secretariat. Furthermore, the copyright industry is a major part of the creative economy and contributes extensively to the economy.
