R15m relief fund but apply in 14 days

A provincial government relief fund of R15m has been set up for Eastern Cape artists and athletes — but they only have about two weeks to apply.

Sports, recreation, arts & culture (Dsrac) MEC Fezeka Bayeni, speaking at the Guild Theatre in East London on Thursday, conceded the fund would not replace what they would have earned under normal circumstances.

“It’s intended for temporary relief. The main thing is to ensure we fairly resource clubs with equipment so that, post Covid-19, they are able to operate effectively,” she said.

The fund will be divided between the arts and sports sectors. Micro, small and large grants from R10,000 up to R200,000 will be allocated, depending on the category of the applicant. Newly appointed Dsrac head of department Sibongile Mpofu said no fixed amount would be allocated due to the unknown magnitude of applications.

Creative and Cultural Industries Federation of SA (CCIFSA) national co-ordinator Luzuko Khohli said the national arts department had criteria that accommodated only national artists.

“The criteria don’t assist artists on the ground such as DJs in clubs, or people in remote areas”

“We have asked Dsrac to involve CCIFSA in the province to assist with this, but the MEC hasn’t responded,” Khohli said.

Singer M Que said the criteria did not accommodate individual artists.

“I had gigs lined up in clubs across the province and nationally. I’ve had no money coming in to pay my bills. I’m sure many artists are in the same situation,” M Que said.

A group calling itself the Buffalo City Performing Arts Council, which “speaks to the formalisation of the entertainment industry” in the metro, has a Facebook following of 2,117 people, including artists.

BCM spokesperson Samkelo

Ngwenya said: “Our understanding is that this structure was formed by artists with the aim of organising themselves in 2017 (it was as a result of a nonpayment issue with the city) in the industry.

“However, the structure is not officially endorsed by the municipal council.”

On the sports front, Bayeni said teams or professionals already funded by Dsrac, such as Border Bulldogs rugby, automatically did not qualify for the grant.

“We don’t want to pay people we are not supposed to pay. We will establish an adjudication process and appoint an accredited auditor to monitor funds to avoid mismanagement,” she said.

The funding is limited to this financial year [2019/2020] and artists who qualify should provide proof that their livelihoods were solely dependent on the projects they were involved in.

Interested parties may download the application form on the Dsrac website. The closing date for applications is June 12.