Question NW2231 to the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture
30 October 2020 - NW2231
Van Dyk, Ms V to ask the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture
(1) What are the details of how the money of the relief funding will be distributed between the (a) sports sector and the (b) arts and culture sector; (2) what are the reasons that practitioners from the arts and heritage sector only allocated R12 million while practitioners from the sports sector were allocated R65 million; (3) (a) whether R11 million has been ring-fenced, therefore leaving R66 million and what are the details of how the money is split?
Reply:
(1). The Department regards all sectors under it as of equal importance; and as per the presentation made to the Portfolio Committee in September 2020; the projections were based on the total balance of budget, to cater for sport, arts and heritage practitioners, there was never a distinction for distribution of funds for either Sports or Arts and Culture. The department approached National Treasury to get approval to utilise the balance, to cater overall for Sport, Arts and Culture.
(2). Initially the available balance of the Budget was for Sport; but after approval from National Treasury; the department was then able to redirect its existing conditional grants toward responding to the outcry due to the pandemic to cater for all practitioners serviced by the department.
(3). Yes, R11 million has been ring-fenced and committed to enable entering into a partnership with the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) to cater for audio-visual, crafts, visual arts and design sector which were not catered for in the second wave. The rest of what remains of the budget was aimed at responding to applications received from both sports and all other cultural domains within the arts, culture and heritage for the second wave of relief funding.