The National Art Council (NAC), a subsidiary of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), is showing Minister Gayton McKenzie the middle finger.
McKenzie was appointed Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture on July 3.
Within days of his appointment, he announced that there will be no secrecy but transparency in his department.
On numerous occasions, McKenzie said that if an artist receives funding from the DSAC, then the public will have to know about it.
Allegedly funded non-qualifying companies
The NAC was put under scrutiny during Ccovid-19 period. This was when they allegedly funded companies that had nothing to do with Culture and Creative Industries (CCIs)
In September 2024, the NAC published a list of projects that received funding.
The ownership of these projects is not known, as NAC concealed this information.
This is contrary to McKenzie’s promise to the industry.
The NAC was approached about this contradiction.
They were also asked to provide the list of companies that have been funded on PESP 5. This request was also unsuccessful, as they refused to release the list.
The NAC made it clear that they would not be following McKenzie’s instruction.
NAC says decisions were already made
Sibonelo Chauke from NAC told Sunday World that, when McKenzie was appointed, they had already made their decision.
“The minister was appointed after the NAC had made the resolution. He made this decision because [some] people claimed that they had not received funding from the department. Whereas they have been receiving funding. Hence the decision by the Honourable Minister to publish all of their beneficiaries,” said Sibonelo.
He said a number of artists experienced house robberies and harassment.
“We received a considerable number of complaints. This from beneficiaries who experienced crimes such as house robberies. With criminals demanding money received from the NAC.
“Other complaints include our beneficiaries being victims of harassment. This… from people demanding jobs and specific salaries. Making reference that they received a specific amount from NAC. And that they are entitled to receive what they are demanding,” said Sibonelo.
No proof of house robbery, harassment allegations
Out of all these victims, only one opened a case, and the NAC could not prove it.
They were also requested to provide a number of artists who were victims of house robberies and harassment. Again, they failed to do so.
He said they will eventually publish the list of beneficiaries at a later stage.
“When the list is published in the annual report, the projects will have been implemented. [This] will prevent criminals from harassing our [beneficiaries] on the presumption that they have funds. And we will also be adhering to the National Treasury Reporting Standards,” he said.
A media inquiry was also sent to DSAC to ascertain if they had any knowledge of this contradiction. As usual, there was no response from DSAC.
