The announcement by President Jacob Zuma of the sweeping changes in cabinet came at a time when the country was beginning to lose faith in the public service. For the past two years the country witnessed protest and strikes which were on the brink of crippling the economy. I can only hope that this is a new beginning and the public will welcome the new appointments.
Rather than reminiscence about my past years as the CEO of the NFVF, I think this is the perfect opportunity to welcome Mr. Paul Mashatile as the Minister of Arts and Culture and Dr. Joe Phaahla as Deputy Minister.
Mr. Paul Mashatile is no stranger to the creative industries, he earned a formidable reputation early on as the MEC for Finance and Economic Affairs in the Gauteng Provincial Government, a portfolio that put him in charge of institutions such as the Gauteng Economic Development Agency that oversaw the establishment of the Gauteng Film Commission . His experience and skill in tackling economic issues can only bode him well in the present portfolio as we seek to position Cultural Industries and the South African film industry as a vital cog in the contribution to the GDP and in executing our strategic thrust of "taking cinema to the citizens."
These sweeping changes come at an opportune time, when the NFVF has recommitted itself to the development of the Sectoral Information Systems (SIS), a programme intended to disentangle the dearth of reliable and consistent data to assess the economic contribution of the creative industries and its social and developmental impact. It is envisaged that SIS will help the NFVF and the industry to accurately measure sector performance and the related economic and job multipliers.
I further extend my hand to welcome the new Deputy Minister Dr. Joe Phaahla, to the department and the entire arts community. Dr. Phaahla served as the Director General for the government's FIFA 2010 World Cup Unit, his experience and expertise will be highly needed in positioning the arts and culture sector. I hope the incoming ministers will note the importance of the creative industries, and particularly the film sector, as one of the identified drivers of sustainable economic opportunities and livelihoods for local communities whilst expanding business opportunities for small, medium and micro enterprise (SMMEs).
To the former minister of Arts and Culture, Minister Lulu Xingwana, who has answered the presidential call to serve the Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities ministry, I can only express my gratitude and thank her for the role she has played thus far. For the past 17 months, the NFVF and the ministry managed to forge a relationship that was intended to advance the film industry and elevate it to greater heights, thus advance the film opportunity to South Africans. During her stint at the Arts and Culture Ministry, Minister Xingwana proved her willingness to engage with the arts community, and vowed to strive for a better relationship with the filmmakers.
I am also equally excited about the changes that were introduced at the Department of Communications and trust that they will help to resolve the impasse at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). I am quite optimistic that the new minister Mr. Roy Padayachie and his deputy Mr. Obed Bapela, will be able to heal the rift between the SABC board members and the CEO and render the broadcaster fully functional for the sake of the public and the entire film and television industry. This is not new turf for Mr. Padayachie, who served as Deputy Communications Minister under the late Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri and was most recently Deputy Minister for Public Service & Administration. His previous experience in the department will enable him to hit the ground running and bring stability to the crisis-ridden public entities most notably Sentech and the SABC. The current state of affairs at the public broadcaster requires some form of intervention and does not augur well for both television viewers and the production sector.
The DOC is a strategic partner for us as the NFVF in the development of indegenous content that reflects South Africa to itself and to the rest of the world. Both the SABC and ICASA are critical in achieving the aspirations as reflected in the Electronics and Communications Act. A priority intervention at this point would be to bring stability from the ongoing crisis at the SABC that is impacting on commissioning, licensing, contracting, payments, the lack of rights for content creators which is negatively affecting the growth of the sector.
I am optimistic that the return of Mr. Padayachie to the DOC will revitalize the Content Industries Strategy adopted by cabinet in 2003, which highlights how the content industries can contribute to economic development and growth by addressing certain gaps in private consumption, government consumption, import/export, investment and capital formation.
Is it not ironic that, Mr. Paul Mashatile, Mr. Obed Bapela and Mr. Tshediso Matona, DG at the dti, and myself, would share nostalgic memoirs as young, rebellious and determined members of Congress of South African Students and the Youth Congresses in Soweto and Alex in the early 80's, where our initial thrust was to render the country ungovernable and liberate our people. Today we are reunited by the unwavering philosophy of enhancing the quality of life of ordinary South Africans through the creative industries.
As for my initial intention to muse about my years at the NFVF, that will be entertained in my next column.
