Media statement: For immediate release
Today, The National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC) is pleased to announce the list of successful applicants who responded to the 2022 Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP3) Call for Funding across seven (7) arts disciplines namely music, literature, visual arts, crafts, theatre, dance and multidiscipline. The Call opened on 20 June 2022 and closed on 29 July 2022.
In March 2022, the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) informed the NAC of the allocation received from the Presidency for a third round of funding related to the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP3). The NAC subsequently received a letter from DSAC confirming an allocation of R180 million for the PESP3 2022/23 fiscal year. 4% of the total allocation was to be used for NAC project management fees, which left a total of R 172,800,000Â for disbursment directly to the arts practitioners for funding projects.
PESP3 aims to provide economic stimulation to support sector initiatives that create jobs in the creative and cultural sectors through an open call for proposals. PESP forms part of the Government’s intervention to re-activate the sector for economic recovery and reconstruction, post the COVID-19 pandemic devastation.
In addition, PESP 3 strives to meet governments objectives of job creation, with a clear focus on targeted groups (women, youth and people living with disabilities). It is important to note that the PESP3 being managed by the National Arts Council (NAC) did not include the allocation for heritage projects, as this allocation is being managed by the National Heritage Council (NHC).
All adjudications on applications were performed by qualified industry experts in the Arts sector, and each art discipline adjudication Panel was chaired by a Council Member, who only played an oversight role without participating in any adjudication process. This was in accordance with Section 11(2) of the National Arts Council Act of 1997.
The NAC Council and Management are pleased to inform the sector that a total of six hundred and twenty-one (621) applications were successful, across the seven arts disciplines that were earmarked during this PESP3 call for funding. R172 800 000 was awarded as follows:
| Art Discipline | Total Amount Awarded per discipline |
| Music | R38 016 000 |
| Dance | R13 824 000 |
| Theatre | R22 464 00 |
| Multidiscipline | R50 112 000 |
| Craft | R12 960 000 |
| Visual Arts | R18 144 000 |
| Literature | R12 960 000 |
| Total | R172,800,00 |
Of the 4 765 applications received, only 1 890 were compliant and referred to the Advisory Panels for adjudication. This means only 39.6 % of the applications received were worthy to be considered, whereas 60.3 % were declined due to non-compliance.
The NAC Council and Management notes with great concern the number of applications that did not proceed to adjudication due to administrative non-compliance, and failure to adhere to the requirements stated in the call for funding guidelines.
At the beginning of its term, the NAC Council removed several unnecessary barriers that prevented arts practitioners from submitting their applications. These barriers were related to requirements for company financial statements, a valid tax certificate (being submitted an application stage), and a 6-months certified ID copy.
To ease application restrictions, Council resolved that only successful applicants would be required to submit a valid tax certificate (at the contracting stage). Council also resolved that only financial statements related to the NAC-funded projects, must be submitted (at the conclusion of the project) and that a 12-month certified ID copy would be accepted.
Furthermore, Management embarked on capacity-building initiatives to assist the sector with the application processes from 4-15th July 2022. Physical and virtual workshops were held, where prospective applicants were taken through the process of navigating the Grant Management System (GMS).
The National Arts Council wishes to thank the Presidency and the National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) for entrusting it with the responsibility to distribute PESP3 funding to the sector.
In conclusion, we wish to extend our profound gratitude to the sector for positively responding to this call by submitting their creative proposals. And we congratulate all applicants whose applications were successful.
A full list of all the successful applicants for the seven (7) disciplines is now available on the NAC website on www.nac.org.za.
Ends.
Enquiries:
General: info@nac.org.za
Media: media@nac.org.za
Issued by the National Arts Council of South Africa.