Question NW592 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture

Reply:

The cultural and creative economy makes a significant contribution to the economy and employment in South Africa. The South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) research funded by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture through Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) reports that Cultural and Creative Industry (CCI) contributed R74.4bn to the country's GDP between 2016 and 2018. In the report titled Economic Mapping of the Cultural and Creative Industries in South Africa 2020 (SACO 2020) it was found that the core creative industries contributed 3.05% to the South African GDP in 2017, that is R155 billion, and the supporting industries had a share of 2.24% of the GDP at R115 billion, which is a total share of 5.29% of the GDP. In 2018 the direct impact (also called “Value Added”) of the CCIs was R74.39 billion which accounts for 1.7% of South Africa’s GDP. Furthermore, in same period of 2018, the CCIs contributed R271.9 billion to the capital stock of South Africa.

It is revealed in the preliminary SACO 2022 CCI Mapping Study that in 2015 the cultural and creative economy made up 5.6% of jobs in 2017 it increased to 5.9% and in 2019 to 6% of all employment in the country.

Further the Department has several interventions that it has and continues to implement; ranging from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Program; Creation of spaces; the Community Arts Development Program; the Visual Arts and Design Program; the Public Art Program; the National and Provincial Flagship Projects (including Festivals; Exhibitions and Cultural Events); amongst others. For an example; the Presidential Employment Stimulus Program has translated into a creation more than 36 000 jobs; as a result contributing to employment; reconstruction and recovery of the sector. The Department has also implemented an intervention that is part of ensuring that there an enabling environment through creation of spaces where the cultural and creative industries can thrive. Already great progress has been made in venturing into Limpopo; Mpumalanga and North West which are the only provinces that did not have Performing Arts Institutions at the calibre of those in Western Cape; Gauteng; Free State and KwaZulu Natal. The Flagship projects focus on preservation and promotion of culture in the country; through partnership with key stakeholders and alignment to the Social Cohesion and Nation building agenda

These and other programs mentioned above are key in bringing in a sense of identity; reflecting and encouraging local content; and promotion of the national identity.

My Department, through the community library grant, is employing a total number of 2489 contract staff to manage and provide access to library and information services to the citizens. In 2020/21, as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus package, the National Library of South Africa (NLSA) was allocated an amount of R60 million in response to the job losses that came as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Half of the amount, R30 million was allocated to the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA) for the digitisation of archival records and the remaining R30 million to NLSA for the digitization of newspapers and periodicals. The allocation was mainly to be used towards the appointment of 326 unemployed youth and the procurement of digitisation equipment. As a result thereof, 453 youth benefited from the project which commenced in November 2020 to December 2021. In addition to this, 12 unemployed youth were also appointed at NARSSA to assist with cleaning services. They were appointed in September 2020 and are still in the employ of the Department. Investigations are underway to see the possibility of extending their contracts for additional 12 months.