CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NAC BENEFICIARIES
ARE WE ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?
By Thami aka Mbongo Manzana
Firstly, congratulations to all the beneficiaries of the National Arts Council (NAC) funding. The announcement of successful applicants in Visual Arts, Craft, Literature, Dance, Music and the outstanding results still to come in Theatre and Multi-Disciplinary Arts will undoubtedly bring relief and excitement to many artists and organisations across South Africa.
Every funded project represents a dream, an opportunity, and in many cases, a chance to sustain livelihoods in a sector that continues to face significant challenges.
The beneficiaries deserve to celebrate.
However, while we celebrate those who have been funded, are we asking enough questions about the broader funding ecosystem?
For years, practitioners have been told that there is simply not enough money. We have accepted this explanation as fact. But is the problem really that there is not enough money, or is it that the available money is not being distributed in a manner that benefits the majority of practitioners?
The NAC is expected to fund seven disciplines across nine provinces. The result is often that only a handful of projects are funded in each province. We are then told that resources are limited.
But if resources are limited, what efforts have been made to increase them?
Has the NAC Council and Management successfully secured additional funding beyond the grant received from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC)?
Have they convinced government that the creative sector deserves a larger allocation?
Have they established meaningful partnerships with the private sector?
At various engagements, including the Cultural and Creative Industries Bosberaad, practitioners were told that new funding avenues would be explored. There was excitement. There was optimism. There were promises that business and other stakeholders would be brought on board to support the sector.
Where are those outcomes?
What progress has been made?
How much additional funding has been secured since those commitments were made?
These are not attacks. They are legitimate questions from a sector that desperately needs answers.
The Question of NAC Savings
Another question that deserves attention relates to money that does not reach beneficiaries.
We are often led to believe that the NAC has no money. Yet has anyone thoroughly interrogated the entity's savings, reserves and unspent funds?
How much funding allocated to beneficiaries ultimately remains undistributed?
How much money sits in accounts at the end of each financial year?
How much is reported publicly and how much is hidden within complex financial statements that very few practitioners ever read?
Transparency should not be feared. It should be welcomed.
If there is indeed no money, then the numbers should prove it.
If there is money, then the sector deserves to know.
The Mystery of Second Tranche Funding
One of the most important questions concerns second tranche payments.
Many organisations and practitioners fail to submit acceptable reports required to unlock their second tranche payments.
When this happens, what exactly happens to that money?
The explanation often provided is that the money is returned to the National Treasury.
If that is the case, can the NAC publicly disclose:
How much money has been returned to Treasury over the years?
Which programmes generated those returned funds?
How much was returned in the last five financial years?
Can the public verify these amounts?
These are reasonable questions.
The sector deserves transparency regarding every rand that was originally intended to support artists.
Funding Beyond Funding Calls
There is another uncomfortable conversation that the sector continues to avoid.
Many practitioners will never see their names on NAC funding outcome lists despite applying year after year.
Yet there are organisations and individuals who seem to receive support through mechanisms that are not always publicly understood.
How are these funds allocated?
What policies govern them?
Who qualifies?
How does an ordinary practitioner access such opportunities?
If there are special funding mechanisms outside open calls, should they not be communicated clearly to the entire sector?
Transparency removes suspicion.
Secrecy creates it.
The Human Problem
Perhaps the biggest challenge is not policy.
Perhaps it is people.
How many individuals within the system have become too comfortable?
How many have mastered the art of navigating the institution while the majority remain excluded?
How many relationships exist between staff, management, adjudicators, beneficiaries and decision-makers that deserve closer scrutiny?
These questions are not directed at everyone. Many people at the NAC work with integrity and commitment.
But every sector knows when a system is benefiting the same networks repeatedly.
The creative sector is no different.
A Sector That Must Ask Questions
The purpose of asking questions is not to attack the NAC.
The purpose is accountability.
If there is truly no money, let the numbers speak.
If additional funding has been secured, let the sector know.
If second tranche funds are returned to Treasury, publish the figures.
If special funding mechanisms exist, explain them.
If governance systems are working, demonstrate it.
Artists are often told to be grateful for whatever little support they receive.
Perhaps it is time for practitioners to be grateful for the opportunities they receive while also demanding greater transparency about the opportunities they never see.
Congratulations once again to every beneficiary.
Celebrate your success.
But as a sector, let us continue asking difficult questions.
Because the future of South Africa's Cultural and Creative Industries depends not only on who receives funding, but also on whether the system itself can withstand scrutiny.
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Comments
Thank u Thami Sikhupelo arts administrator Northen Cape