Launch of TADA's PESP Report

R300 million was made available from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) for arts and culture projects to be funded through the National Arts Council (NAC).  The NAC managed to stuff up the allocations royally by awarding nearly double the amount of the funding they actually had available.  This severely impacted the arts sector and those who had depended on this public funding lifeline in the midst of the decimation of the COVID-19 lockdowns.  I chaired a group of Theatre and Dance Alliance (TADA) members who investigated this debacle and we issued our report to the media apportioning blame not only to the senior management of the NAC, but also the Minister and his department that had made available the funding late in the year, at a time when many were on holiday and requiring the projects to be completed in an unrealistic time framework.  The NAC eventually conducted their own investigation and of course, are making the previous management the chief scapegoats while not reflecting at all on the roles of the Minister, the department and the new NAC Council.