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2 days ago

Controversial Trust Medium 65% #parks-tau #dtic #film-and-tv-industry #da #parliament #portfolio-committee #rebate-program #budget-crisis #south-africa-economy #production-industry

Parks Tau summoned over 663 million rand owed to film and TV industry

Podcast Briefing 2:45

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Key Strategic Points

  1. 1 The film and television industry is owed 663 million rand in rebates for completed, government-approved projects that have not been paid, forcing many production companies into closure due to cash flow constraints.
  2. 2 The adjudication panel responsible for approving film and television rebate applications has not met since March 2024, effectively halting all new production activity in the industry.
  3. 3 The industry has contracted by approximately 50 percent, impacting an estimated 60,000 direct employees and 100,000 indirect employees, primarily in the Western Cape, KZN, and other provinces.
  4. 4 Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau's department claims it has no funds available, attributing the shortfall to overspending in previous years under former minister Patel, indicating systemic mismanagement.
  5. 5 The department changed rebate rules without industry consultation, now requiring production companies to finance films at their own risk and apply for rebates only after production is complete, eliminating guaranteed funding.
  6. 6 One hundred and forty-four countries worldwide maintain similar film and television incentive programs; South Africa's stalled program has caused major production companies to relocate to Portugal, Malta, and other jurisdictions.
  7. 7 The National Film and Video Foundation, administered by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, operates independently with no coordinated strategy to support the film and television industry alongside the rebate program.
  8. 8 The Democratic Alliance has called for an urgent parliamentary debate on the matter and the portfolio committee plans to summon the minister to account for departmental inaction.

Notable Quotes

“The industry is owed 663 million rand in rebates that haven't been paid. Now that is a huge amount of money bearing in mind that most of these companies are relatively small. They're independent, they're privately owned and that is money that they've already spent and now they have to try and recoup it and many of the businesses have gone out under because they just haven't been able to survive the cash flow constraints.”

— Toby Chance, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on trade, industry and competition

“The adjudication panel that decides on the awarding of grants to different productions based on the applications has not sat since March 2024. And that means that there's been no activity at all in the industry, which means the productions that should have happened haven't happened.”

— Toby Chance, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on trade, industry and competition

“It's a total mess. The industry had a meeting in February with Deputy Minister God Limpy and he made gave them assurances that the problem would be solved but nothing has ever happened and they were so frustrated that they eventually made a PAIA application which gave them all sorts of gobbledygook.”

— Toby Chance, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on trade, industry and competition

“This industry is provides a window for international viewers into South Africa and our beautiful landscapes, our tourism potential. So we are essentially getting 10 billion rands worth of advertising without even batting an eyelid. This is what the economic impact is really showing is how an industry not only employing a lot of people but also providing marketing and advertising for South Africa is in danger of shooting ourselves in the foot.”

— Toby Chance, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on trade, industry and competition

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