AS he accepted his Diamond Ngoma Award, media entrepreneur Steven Nyirenda painted a vivid picture of the disparity in how Zambian artistes are treated compared to their international counterparts. His observation that our local talents are paid “masese” (peanuts) while foreign performers take the jackpot is a stark reminder of how far we need to go in valuing our homegrown talent. Zambian artistes are immensely talented, yet their potential is often stifled by a lack of adequate support from both citizens and corporate institutions. Time and again, we witness major events in the country prioritising foreign performers over local ones. Take, for example, the Stanbic Music Festival, where international artistes are the headline acts, while our local stars are relegated...