Johannesburg – The NAC welcomes the creative and cultural sector to another PESP Industry Briefing. This webinar provides weekly updates on the progress made in respect of the disbursement of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) and how funds are distributed. This follows the previous briefing session, which was held on Friday, the 14^th of May 2021.

The NAC received an allocation of R300 million, of which R285 million was to be distributed for PESP funding. As of today, the following milestones have been achieved:

1. The NAC announced a total of 1 331 applicants that were approved for the PESP grant.
2. To date, a total of R 209 154 115.70 has been paid to 1 305 beneficiaries, which is a combination of 70% of the grant value (the first tranche) and the full grant amounts payable to beneficiaries.
3. We can now say that 98% of 1 331 beneficiaries have now received 70% of the grant value (the first tranche) and full grant amounts.
4. Of the total grant amount of R285 million, 75% of payments have been disbursed to beneficiaries, including those that have concluded their projects. This is in accordance with the PESP agreement between the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) and the NAC.
5. As of this afternoon, the first tranche payments that are still due comprises: 19 applicants made up of 10 contracts still to be sent to beneficiaries on receipt of the revised required information and 9 contracts sent but not yet received back from beneficiaries.
6. The balance of the second tranche/final payments will be paid in various intervals following receipt of required reporting.
7. The anticipated number of work opportunities retained and created by contracts returned now stands at just over 26 000.

We can confirm that as of today, there are only 19 beneficiaries who have not submitted their documents and who, unfortunately, stand to forfeit their grants. Beneficiaries with outstanding documentation or contracts not yet returned were already notified of the deadline.

Many beneficiaries are, in the process of submitting their interim and final reports. Reporting is  open on the GMS portal and beneficiaries can view the requirements and guidelines for reporting on the NAC  website: https://www.nac.org.za/funding-news/pesp-reporting-requirements-and-guidelines/

The submission of the interim reports, which needs to indicate the project activities and provide proof of expenditure, must be followed by the submission of the final report, which will indicate the remaining activities and expenditure to complete the project. Final reports will be accessible to all beneficiaries on the GMS portal upon approval of the interim report.  We urge beneficiaries to submit correct and credible proof of expenditure as part of their interim reporting. Once final reports are submitted with compliant tax clearance pins, the second (final) tranche payment will be processed.  The NAC has requested DSAC to extend the conclusion date of the PESP projects and reporting to the end of June 2021.  We are currently waiting for a response from DSAC on the request for an extension. We will inform beneficiaries as soon as the response is communicated to the NAC.

Beneficiaries whose outcomes are outstanding forms part of the declined applications. The GMS portal has been updated to indicate that such applications have been declined.  This will be followed by letters of decline to each applicant.

We thank all beneficiaries who have shared their innovative projects with us. We continue to urge beneficiaries to continue to share their posters and marketing material with us on our social media pages and via email at communications@nac.org.za. NAC and DSAC logos are available on the website.

This Council remains fully committed to successfully completing the PESP process to ensure that the PESP funds reach all beneficiaries to retain and create the much-needed work opportunities in our industry.

ENDS…

For Media Enquiries: Council Spokesperson, Cllr. Tshepo Mashiane – 072 037 3358