Johannesburg – The NAC has learnt with great sadness at the passing of the Mayor of the city of Johannesburg, Geoff Makhubo. Our thoughts are with the families, colleagues, and friends of all those who have passed on due to COVID-19. Let’s have a moment of silence in remembrance of their lives [MOMENT OF SILENCE].

The NAC welcomes the creative and cultural sector to another PESP Industry Briefing. This webinar comes eight days after the officially announced closure date of PESP, which was the 30^th of June 2021. These webinars provide weekly updates on the progress made with respect to the disbursement of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) and how the funds are distributed. This follows the previous briefing session, which was held on Friday, the 2^nd of July 2021.

The NAC received an allocation of R300 million, of which R285 million was 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 funding.
2. To date, a total of R235 642 080.60 (two hundred and thirty-five million six hundred and forty-two thousand and eighty rand and sixty cents) has been paid to 1 309 beneficiaries, which is a combination of 70% of the grant value (the first tranche) and the full grant amounts payable to beneficiaries.
3. Second tranche payments are being paid in various intervals following receipt of the required reporting from beneficiaries.
4. The number of beneficiaries who have been paid their final tranche has increased from 44% to 49%, following the submission and verification of their reports. This is made up of 88% of Stream 1 beneficiaries and 35% of Stream 2 beneficiaries.
5. The anticipated number of job opportunities retained and created by contracts returned stands at over 26 000, however, this will be finalised upon receipt of all final reports.
6. 544 PESP funded events have been published on our website’s Event Calendar and across all our social media platforms.

The NAC would like to announce that the acceptance of PESP reports and outstanding payments to PESP beneficiaries is continuing.  We urge all beneficiaries to submit their reports as soon as possible. We request beneficiaries who have not yet submitted their interim reports to advise us via email as to when reports will be submitted.

Beneficiaries who have received 70% of their grant and have not yet submitted reports, as per their contractual obligation, are being contacted to ensure that their reports are submitted. Beneficiaries who require assistance with reporting can let us know and one of our team members will gladly guide you through this process by phone or zoom.

We understand the urgency of completing this task and the need for final payments to be made and are working tirelessly to ensure that beneficiaries who have already submitted their reports are paid as soon as possible.

We would like to emphasise the need for beneficiaries to check on their tax status, as payments can only be made to beneficiaries who are tax compliant.

The NAC has learnt with shock that certain beneficiaries are not meeting their obligations to third parties, after receiving their payment. We are doing what we can to look into these allegations. The NAC will follow its own processes to investigate these matters as quickly as possible.

The period for unsuccessful applicants to submit appeals is now closed as these were due within 30 days of receipt of the decline letter. The DSAC Appeals Committee is currently reviewing appeals and the date of the final outcome will be announced soon.

We thank all beneficiaries who have shared their innovative projects with us, and the invitations received to events. We continue to urge beneficiaries to share their invites, press releases, press coverage as well as posters and marketing material with us by tagging us on our social media pages and via email at communications1@nac.org.za.

With regards to the processes unfolding towards the announcement of the NAC Call for Funding for 2021/22, Council will be hosting its Strategic Planning Session on 16 and 17 July 2021 to finalise plans for the NAC trajectory for the next four years. The Council, with Management, has commenced with Stakeholder Consultations, the first of which was hosted on Tuesday the 29^th of June 2021, followed by another session hosted on the 5^th of July 2021. The NAC will continue with these Stakeholder Consultations to build a collective knowledge-sharing platform leading to the Strategic Planning Session. The Stakeholder Consultations have been an effective platform in engaging stakeholders about the NAC and what they would like to see in the future. The outcomes of the sessions will not only provide the NAC with the direction on what the call for applications will focus on, but it will also ensure that the strategic plan for the NAC is formulated in partnership with the sector and is responsive to its needs and modus operandi.

Following our update regarding provincial partners for COVID-19 relief funding disbursement, the second review for this process is currently underway and due for completion at the end of July 2021.

Provincial Roadshows will be held timeously to create awareness of the NAC Funding guidelines, funding criteria, navigating the Grant Management System and assessment criteria to assist applicants. Due to the rising challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic in alignment with the current level 4 lockdown regulations, the NAC will be making every effort to ensure the safety of all our Stakeholders by migrating this initiative to a virtual engagement.

This Council remains fully committed to successfully completing the PESP process to ensure that the PESP funds reach all beneficiaries, enabling them to retain and create the much-needed job opportunities in our sector.

ENDS…

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