High drama in Parliament as Department of Sport, Arts and Culture officials are sentpacking over “fake”, rubbish” and ‘wishy wash” presentation

This is as it emerged that some projects are half-completed, and the perennial issue of underspending continues unabated.

By Edward Tsumele

There was drama in parliament on Friday as the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture’s presentation was found not only short, but left Members of the Portfolio Committee unimpressed. Angry even.

After the officials had finished presenting what was supposed to be a performance report in which it highlighted its achievements, including four one day events in April this year, the Chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture Joseph McGluwa set the tone for what other members of the Committee said about the report. He dismissed the presentation as not worthy of being officially adopted by Parliament, describing it as “rubbish”.

XiTsonga musician turned politician Eric ‘Penny Penny’ Khovani who represents the MK Party in Parliament weighed in and said it was a fake presentation that was “useless and will waste our time”.

“Sanitized report, because what we have here is something scary, something wish-washy,” commented Liam Jacobs of the DA after the presentation.

Eugene Mthethwa of the EFF said that the report was contradictory to what was initially sent to the Committee (ahead of the” of the presentation” and therefore was confusing.

Eventually the Portfolio Committee reached the unprecedented decision to send the officials packing to the drawing board in order to come back with a presentation that represents the true picture of its performance. This includes the perennial underspending and projects that stand half-completed. This is despite the fact that the department exists in an environment that relies on heavy government funding, particularly the creative and cultural sector.

Artists depend on funding from funding agencies that operate under the auspices of the department, such as the National Arts Council of South Africa, the National Heritage Council and the National Film and Video Foundation.  These agencies are often under pressure to meet demands for funding by arts organisations and artists who apply for funding when calls go out.

The creative and cultural sector’s spirits were uplifted this year when a new minister was appointed, Gayton McKenzie, who promised action and appeared to be becoming with renewed energy to right the wrongs that have bedeviled the sector for a long time. While it is earlydays, however, the sector is waiting to see if things will indeed change for the better in the sector. This is especially after the Minister recently called for an Imbizo where he met the sector over two days to try and map out the future of the sector. This and other public statements made by Minister Mckenzie since his appointment has had the effect of raising expectations of the situation improving in how DSAC responds to the needs and challenges of the cultural and creative sector.