Question NW2189 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
27 September 2021 - NW2189
Van Dyk, Ms V to ask the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
(1). Taking into account that his department was alerted of the status of the SA Music Industry Council (SAMIC) vis-à-vis the Department of Trade and Industry's withdrawal of its support towards SAMIC due to unaccountability and non-compliance with the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999, and Corporate Governance, what (a) informed the decision of his department to fund the hosting of the recent SAMIC conference and (b) documentation did his department acquire from SAMIC to warrant the approval of the specified funding; (2). whether his department will provide the specified documentation, since another SAMIC was registered in 2020, compared to the legitimate SAMIC which was registered in 2015; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the (a) registration documents of the two SAMIC organisations that his department funded and (b)(i) proof of address, (ii) tax clearance certificate and (iii) bank confirmation letter in each specified case?
Reply:
1. The Department was not aware of any agreement between the Department of Trade and Industry with SAMIC.
This challenge is largely due to the lack of a centralised Government wide database of defaulting beneficiaries, so that we are able to identify and isolate them until they comply with all prescripts of the contracts without fail.
SAMIC is national, legal and autonomous body, comprised of members from music industry organisations that represent different constituencies. It is the sole voice and umbrella body for the entire South African music industry role-players, Established in 2014. The South African Music Industry Council (SAMIC) aims to transform protect and preserve the South African music market, assets and legacy.
a) The Department agreed to fund the recent SAMIC Conference held in April 2021. The decision by the Department to provide financial support was due to the following:
- The fragmentation within the arts and culture sector has contributed to its underdevelopment in terms of unified policy development and direction.
- The sector has not realised its full potential to effectively contribute to social development and initiative
- The music industry in particular has evolve as a result of fourth industrial revolution and its impact has affected the South African music industry,
- The legislative framework governing the music industry is out dated and requires to be updated in order to respond to the demands of the digitalisation in the industry.
The initiative by SAMIC to position itself as an umbrella body within the music industry is commendable and it is in line with the overall mandate of the Department.
b) SAMIC approached the Department requesting funding to host a national conference in January 2021 and provided a project proposal, a compliancy documents namely; company registration, tax certificate, entity form with a certified bank stamp,
2. The Department is able to provide all documents received from SAMIC,
a) The Department funded SAmic with the Registration Number: 150-953 NPO. -Registered in terms of the Non-profit Organisation Act, 1997, Act no 71 and we are not aware of another SAMIC formed in 2015.
b) Attached as (Annexure A) are documents received from SAMIC as per the question request.