BY PLOT MHAKO The year 2020 will be remembered as a painful one after the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Caught unaware, the world had not anticipated that the pandemic would go beyond six months, throwing the creative and cultural industries into deep panic, uncertainty and struggle. Although the government came up with an Artist Relief Fund through the arts motherbody, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe as part of efforts to cushion artistes, rendered jobless when the country was in lockdown with a blanket ban on public gatherings and events, the money did not reach many artists. Apart from the frail music industry being pushed into the intensive care unit by the sneeze, sadly, many lives of comrades in the creative sector were lost. The creative sector lost some of the finest talents whose careers were starting to blossom, the likes of Prince Kudakwashe Musarurwa, Delroy “Scara” Maripakwenda who once played drums for Winky D, multi-award-winning rapper Cal_Vin who died in a hit-and-run accident, video vixen Michelle “Moana” Amuli, Iyasa founding member Sibonisiwe “Bonnie” Sithole, Mbira master Cosmas Magaya, veteran comedian Lazarus “Gringo” Boora also died and entertainment mogul and club owner Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure who died in a road accident together with Moana. With the coming of the New Year, the big question now is, will there be anything to rejoice about for the arts industry in this fresh 2021? Sadly, there appear to be no collective contingency plan for the revival of the sector as there is inconsistency on the part of the government on policy implementation with regards to the hosting of events. Some bars, venues and clubs believed to be owned by politically-connected individuals have reopened and are hosting illegal concerts while others are still shut down in what many have described as a scam. Who is benefiting from the confusion and how long can this go on? More questions than answers! The arts motherbody and the parent ministry seem to have lost grip leaving stakeholders operating in a hide and seek mode. In some instances, events with more than 100 people in the audience and no adherence to COVID-19 social distancing are allowed yet in other cases those that attract less than the stipulated number have been blocked. This piecemeal and reactive approach by the government is not helping the industry. With no government grants for the artistes, the prospects for artistes and content creators in the music industry are bleak. With the country continuing to grapple with an perennial economic crisis and COVID-19 still disrupting normal music business, will the showbiz industry recuperate? Data and statistics on the effects of COVID-19 in the country’s music sector revealsthat  there are several artistes, and arts promoters who have fallen on hard times as the pandemic drags into another year. To make matters worse, two major countries that have the biggest Zimbabwean diaspora community, South Africa and Britain, which usually import local artistes for live performances, have raised alarm