The National Heritage Council of South Africa (NHC) will be honouring and recognising the country’s iconic musos whose 64 years’ in music has become synonymous with the identity of South Africa. The duo has accepted the honour to receive the Golden Shield Heritage Award (GOSHA) of Lifetime Achievement at a ceremony that will be held in Polokwane, Limpopo Province, on the 20th of September 2019 from 18h00 at the Meropa Casino.
 
The GOSHA Awards have been held in different provinces over the past nine years and will be hosted by the Limpopo Department of Sport, Arts and Culture for the next three years. These heritage awards recognise champions of heritage who invest their effort and resources to preserve and promote culture and heritage.
 
Among the recent recipients of the Lifetime Achievement are Grace Masuku (an organic intellectual of indigenous knowledge), Dr Credo Mutwa (the inspirational Sanusi and believer of African spirituality), Dr Wally Serote (literary laureate and founding leader of Freedom Park), and Jonas Gwangwa (a prolific Afro-Jazz musician).
 
“Music is, especially for us Africans, one of the most impactful conveyors of culture and heritage. For example, with the advent of Bantustans and forced removal of non-Whites from neighbourhoods such as Sophiatown, black South Africans turned to one of the most important pillars of their culture: music – to express their resistance, forge unity and celebrate their being.
 
Singing and dancing have been a part of the cultures of South Africans for centuries. And for such a formidable couple, carrying themselves with cultural pride for so many decades, to produce music that is uniquely African and accepted by world is a real legacy for South African heritage,” says Sonwabile Mancotywa the CEO of the NHC.
 
The GOSHA Awards will be recognising and giving prizes to twenty-two other recipients who went through a public nomination and adjudication in sixteen categories.
 
Issued by the National Heritage Council of South Africa. For media enquiries, contact Danny Goulkan at 072 952 2260, danny@nhc.org.za RSVP and interview requests enquiries: Linda (082 657 7064) l.shilakwe@nhc.org.za