Question NW270 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
19 March 2021 - NW270
Madlingozi, Mr BS to ask the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
What (a) are the relevant details of his department’s plan for distributing the relief grant to artists and (b) have been the major stumbling blocks towards ensuring that the relief grant reaches as many artists as possible?
Reply:
A). The department had reprioritized funds and set aside R150 million towards relief efforts for arts practitioners. The disbursement of these funds was implemented through calls for applications. To date, three phases of call outs have been made, with the third one still in process. It is anticipated that no less than 9000 artists would have benefitted from the interventions.
b). The challenges experienced have mainly centred around verification of applicants by different state structures that are offering similar benefits in order to avoid double dipping to ensure the limited funds reach as many beneficiaries as possible.