For Immediate Release
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Johannesburg – At its last weekly industry briefing, Council of the NAC confirmed that Grant Notification Letters (GNL’s) were sent out to approved and compliant beneficiaries last week.
This announcement was then followed by a request from the industry to assist the National Arts Council (NAC) with ensuring that the funds reach all applicants. Two organisations, SAUCCIF & CCISFA (represented by their provincial members) have been onboarded to work closely with the NAC in assisting Beneficiaries, (especially the ones in remote areas) to sign their grant notification letters and contracts for payment to be effected.
We sincerely appreciate the efforts by the sector to partner with the NAC in ensuring no artist is left behind in getting access to the PESP funding.
At its last briefing Council also announced that new Grant Notification Letters (GNLs), new contracts or addendum will be issued to PESP applicants, are for a total value of R252million.
Against this amount, 1 130 GNLs and addendums to contracts have been issued. The NAC is pleased that it has received 888 back of these from beneficiaries accepting the new guiding figure. These beneficiaries have now been issued contracts, and we are awaiting these to be returned so payments can continue.
The process of issuing new GNL’s and thereafter contracts has taken time, and whilst it may seem as if the process is slow, this is because we needed to ensure all processes leading up to payment are followed correctly to manage any audit queries. We are confident that most beneficiaries will receive their 1st tranche payments by the 31st March as per the hard deadline.
As the NAC continues to fast track the process of contracting and effecting payments to beneficiaries, Council continues to appeal to those beneficiaries who have not returned GNLs, as well as Contracts, to do so urgently. A delay in returning signed contract will affect the beneficiaries in two ways:
- They could find themselves returning the signed contracts after the 31st March deadline, rendering their project to be not fundable
- Speed by which the NAC will make payments to beneficiaries by 31 March 2021.
A process has been put in place to ensure that the NAC, through the respective Provincial Council Members and working with the sector, contacts beneficiaries and assists them in returning GNLs and Contracts back to the NAC. This effort is beginning to show results; hence the NAC has now been able to pay R37 697 085.50 to a total of 329 beneficiaries
To ensure beneficiaries can verify the CCISFA & SAUCCIF members that have been appointed by the NAC to assist with the GNL & Contracting completing project, we will be publishing the list of their names on our website and in addition providing the representatives with NAC identification. Beneficiaries are also welcome to contact the NAC to further confirm their identities.
This Council remains fully committed to completing this process by the 31st March 2021 and to ensure that the PESP funds reach all the deserving and approved applicants so that projects create or sustain the much-needed jobs without any further hinderance.
View list of Provincial Council Members here.
Issued by the Council of the National Arts Council of South Africa
For All Media Enquiries: Tshepo Mashiane – NAC Council Spokesperson (072 037 3358)