SA govt to assist rejected applicants for creative sector relief fund

The news follows a televised press conference that took place on Monday when Minister Nathi Mthethwa said his department would consider issuing a second call for applications.

However, in yesterday’s meeting, a unanimous decision was taken to help those who had applied initially but were not recommended, instead of reopening applications. The meeting was held by Mthethwa, the Cultural and Creative Industry Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA) and a number of national organisations.

The main objective of the meeting was to deal with the vast majority of applicants who did not succeed in accessing relief funding due to non-compliance with the criteria set to qualify for funding. This was a subject of major concern for the department, as most of the unsuccessful applications came from historically disadvantaged communities and individuals in desperate need of assistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 600 applications of the 1 050 adjudicated requests from the arts and culture sector were unsuccessful, according to a statement issued on 4 May. About 232 applications were recommended for grants and 203 were referred back to the department for reassessment or further action.

The reasons for non-compliance included missing documents and lack of proof of cancellation of events such as a letter or contract indicating the event, among others.

Mthethwa also said a number of people could not access the funding due to the short notice that was given to submit applications, which was aggravated by lockdown restrictions and access to ICT services.

The decision to reassess the unsuccessful applications instead of issuing a second call would mean that no additional applications can be made. No further details were shared in this regard.

Additionally, it was agreed that the department and CCIFSA should work with the national organisations to ensure that their members are assisted with filling the official forms and ensuring that their applications are in order.

The industry also made a number of suggestions aimed at relaxing the application criteria going forward, and the fast tracking of the adjudication process, among others.