PUBLIC MONEY, PRIVATE GREED
WEDNESDAY EDITION | OPINION/ ANALYSIS
HOW FUNDING BENEFICIARIES ARE COMPLICIT IN THE COLLAPSE OF ETHICAL PRACTICE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
By Thami akaMbongo Manzana |
The Creative Passport
WHY THIS CONVERSATION CANNOT BE AVOIDED
This article is a direct follow-up to When Adjudication Becomes Extortion. It is written without fear or favour — deliberately so.
Accountability in the Cultural and Creative Industries cannot end with adjudication panels, councils, departments, or public entities alone.
To stop there would be convenient, but dishonest. Public funding does not collapse ethics on its own. People do. And the moment funding reflects in a personal or organisational bank account, the beneficiary ceases to be a victim of the system and becomes a custodian of public trust.
Image: NLC Logo (Source: NLC)
ACCESSING FUNDING IS LABOUR — ETHICAL PRACTICE IS A DUTY
Securing public funding is not easy. Applications are technical, compliance is demanding, and reporting is unforgiving. Practitioners and organisations who successfully navigate these processes deserve recognition. Administration is work. Paperwork is work. Governance is work. But approval letters are not permission slips to abandon ethics. Public funding is not a reward — it is a social contract.
Image: IDC Logo (Source: IDC)
THE INVISIBLE WORK THAT MAKES FUNDING POSSIBLE
A practice that remains dangerously normalised is receiving professional assistance to secure funding, then refusing to acknowledge or pay that labour once the money arrives. Many beneficiaries rely on others to write applications, compile budgets, prepare compliance documentation, submit reports, and translate institutional language. Funders recognise this work — hence administration fees are legitimate and allowable. Yet once funds land, ethics evaporate. Promises dissolve. Invoices are questioned. Payments are delayed or ignored.
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Image: NEF Logo (Source: NEF)
SECOND-TRANCHE FAILURE AND THE COST OF BETRAYAL
When reporting deadlines arrive, many beneficiaries struggle — precisely because they have already alienated those who enabled their access. Some never receive the second tranche. Where does that money go? Back to National Treasury? Back to the entity? Lost in administrative silence? That investigation deserves its own scrutiny. But this must be stated clearly: refusing to pay for legitimate administrative labour is not survival — it is greed.
Image: DSAC Logo(Source: DSAC)
ORGANISATIONAL GREED AND PAPER-POWER POLITICS
Another layer of decay exists within organisational structures. Directors registered on CIPC/Social Development or founding documents who have long disengaged suddenly resurface once funding is approved. They attend no meetings, contribute no strategy, and carry no operational burden — until money appears. Then they demand authority. This is not governance. It is extraction. It destabilises teams and punishes those who carried organisations through years of struggle. It is institutional witchcraft — invisible in poverty, destructive in abundance.
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Image: DTIC Logo(Source: DTIC)
SELF-ENRICHMENT MASQUERADING AS JOB CREATION
Public arts funding is often justified through job creation. In principle, this is correct. In practice, it is frequently abused. Some individuals and organisations enrich themselves while artists and cultural workers are underpaid, overworked, or unpaid altogether. Long hours are normalised. Passion is weaponised. Gratitude is expected. Fair remuneration is treated as optional. This is not leadership — it is exploitation disguised as empowerment.
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Image: NYDA Logo (Source: NYDA)
ARTISTS, ENTITLEMENT, AND TRANSPARENCY
Accountability must also extend inward. There are moments when artists measure entitlement solely by the total project budget, without understanding operational costs, contractual obligations, or tax responsibilities. This fuels mistrust and conflict. Transparency must be mutual. Ethics cannot be selective.
Image: Multichoice Logo (Source: Multichoice)
HOW DYSFUNCTION SURVIVES
Corruption does not survive on silence alone. It survives on justification. On “everyone does it.” On fear of being blacklisted. On choosing access over integrity. The uncomfortable truth is that the system persists because too many beneficiaries benefit from its disorder.
Image: Arts & Culture Trust Logo (Source: ACT)
AN OPEN INVITATION TO SPEAK — EVEN ANONYMOUSLY
These are uncomfortable issues — and that is exactly why they must be confronted. The Creative Passport invites practitioners, administrators, artists, consultants, and beneficiaries of public funding to share their lived experiences. You may comment anonymously. Your voice matters. Silence has protected dysfunction for too long.
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PUBLIC MONEY DEMANDS PUBLIC ETHICS
This is not an attack on artists. It is a call for ethical maturity. Yes, government must be held accountable. Yes, adjudication processes must be scrutinised. Yes, councils and entities must be challenged. But beneficiaries must also look inward. Public money demands public ethics.
Image: RMB Logo (Source: RMB)
THE CREATIVE PASSPORT’S POSITION
The Creative Passport will continue to ask difficult questions without fear, without favour, and without apology. Accountability is not betrayal. It is an act of care for the future of South Africa’s Cultural and Creative Industries.
Image: PESP Logo(no copyright infringement is intended.)
UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS WE MUST CONFRONT
Have you assisted someone to secure funding and never been paid? Have you been told to “be patient” while others paid themselves first? Have you remained silent out of fear of losing future opportunities? Have you been asked to accept exploitation in the name of passion or transformation? Have you witnessed public funds destroy collectives and relationships? Have you benefited from practices you publicly condemn? At what point does survival become complicity?
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