Suffering artists are yet to see financial support from the Gauteng Film Commission (GFC) as its Board used funds of just over R1 million on special meetings.
The Commission had a budget of R616, 400.00 but the board overspent the budget by close to R400,000 with up to R1,000,600.00 spent on special meetings.
This information was revealed in a written response to DA questions by MEC Morakane.
Many artists across the province continue to suffer and are in desperate need of financial support from the GFC. But, the GFC has long neglected the financial woes of artists in the film and television industry.
Overspending funds on what is deemed as “special meetings” is more proof that the GFC does not care about fulfilling part of its mandate which is to give sufficient support to workers in the entertainment industry.
This entity continues to show the people of Gauteng that it is incapable to plan properly and manage its finances.
The DA demands CEO, Keitumetse Lebaka to prioritise cost-cutting measuring particularly patterning to meetings.
We also insist that the budget must be focused on skills development through funding initiatives that aim at producing highly skilled filmmakers and providing training, workshops, and mentorship to emerging filmmakers.