Donations have been trickling in for TV actor Vusi Thanda who appealed to the public for financial assistance.
Thanda, 71, who is famous for his role of Tshawe in SABC1 sitcom eMzini Wezinsizwa, dropped a video pleading for assistance. The actor even shared his banking details and thanked people in advance for their generosity. Since then, good Samaritans have responded by transferring money to his Capitec account. Speaking to SowetanLIVE, he sounded relieved and pleased that donations have totalled R100,000.
“Ndifuna ubulela abantu bonke nge ncebakazi engaka. [I want to thank those who donated for such generosity]. Their donations have reached R100,000 and I am thankful for that. I don’t care about those who have criticised me for asking for help from the public. These are people who called themselves friends but they were not there when I needed them. Some of them knew my situation but they never assisted me,” he said.
Thanda, who hails from the Eastern Cape, said his financial woes were a result of the lack of acting roles. He last acted in 2021 in a Moja Love production, Ikhaya Labadala. He last filmed with The Queen in 2020.
The seasoned actor said things have been difficult for him since he fell sick suffering from diabetes in 2020. Thanda, who lives with his two sons – with one being unemployed and the other still at school – survives on his pension money of R1,985 per month when roles do not come by.
He lives in a two-bedroom flat in Roodepoort that costs R5,000 monthly. What pushed him to plead for help was the harassment he has been getting from the landlord because he owes rent money.
“In our industry if you are not shooting you won’t get paid. When I appealed to South Africans it was because I had no choice. I was sitting here on my bed on Tuesday when I heard a very rude knock on my door. When I opened it, it was my landlord wanting his rent money. I have not been able to pay rent since late last year. I owe the landlord about R45,000.
“The pension money that I survive on is not enough to buy groceries, pay for my son’s school fees, his transport and buy my diabetic medication. Last year, I had to shoot Ikhaya Labadala not feeling well because I needed the money. This year, I have not even auditioned because there are no roles for people of my age.”
Thanda said in the earlier years of his career he was also working as a producer and doing voiceovers. He said over the years, as things changed in the industry, he was forced to survive with his acting skills only.
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