Minister Gayton McKenzie calls for an investigation into festival funding over the past five to ten years.
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie is calling for an investigation into festival funding over the past five to 10 years.
“The department has found itself in relationships with festivals and their organisers where the expectation of funding has become a form of entitlement, despite numerous other promoters looking to fund new and innovative festival concepts,” said McKenzie in the statement.
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Cape Town International Jazz Festival
The minister mentioned the Cape Town International Jazz Festival as one of the music gatherings that benefited from governmental funding in 2020.
“The most obvious case is that of the Cape Town International Jazz festival, which was given R3 million during the 2019-20 financial year,” he said.
The festival was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to lockdown restrictions that prevented any public gatherings.
“The facts in my possession indicate that no portion of the funding was returned to the department despite numerous costs not needing to be incurred.”
“What were the circumstances around this being acceded to? I would also like to know how many other festivals were funded in this manner without an event taking place.”
McKenzie said concerns about the funding of festivals, where the department may have little to no means of determining how state money is actually disbursed by festival organisers, remain pertinent.
The minister said that as part of the investigation, he wanted to be furnished with audited financials of every major festival the department has funded in the last five to 10 years.
“…so that we can have assurance that the subsidies we have given and intend to continue giving, in reasonable amounts to selective festivals, are being directed towards what they are intended for.”
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Presidential employment stimulus programme
Before McKenzie’s call for the investigation into festival funding, the National Arts Council (NAC) South Africa announced a new Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP 6) call for arts and culture applications for the 2025-26 financial year.
The PESP is a special government initiative geared towards employment creation for artists, creatives, heritage sector workers and cultural workers following the impact of Covid-19 in the sector.
According to the NAC, PESP 6 aims to provide an economic stimulus to support sector initiatives that create jobs in the creative and cultural sectors.
“Applicants are encouraged to propose projects that will create employment opportunities in the sector, as well as a multiplier effect in the creation of employment opportunities beyond the sector itself,” read the statement.
Individual art practitioners, registered arts organisations and community arts centres active in the disciplines of craft, dance, literature, multidiscipline, music, musical theatre, and visual arts can apply for the funding.
The NAC reports to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, as it is a section 3A public entity.
