by Thinus Ferreira
South African filmmakers say the industry is flashing red, with the country's film and TV which "is on the brink of collapse", demanding that the government urgently fix South Africa's broken film rebate system.
Hundreds of film biz workers who are members of the Independent Black Filmmakers Collective,
Independent Producers Organisation (IPO), Animation SA, South African Film Empowerment,
Documentary Filmmakers Association (DFA) and others picketed last week Thursday.
They are extremely concerned over failures at the department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC) and held a public protest at the DTIC's Tshwane campus where a memorandum of their grievances and demands were handed to the government department.
With South Africa's film rebate system that continues to be a shambles, filmmakers demand that the DTIC account for the money budgeted through Treasury to support and build the country's crumbling film and TV industry, as well as an investigation into misgovernance of funds.
"The industry is under threat of collapse, with thousands of people's livelihoods at stake of
being lost," says Ayanda Sibisi, IPO interim secretary-general.
In a memorandum handed to chief director Justice Ngwenya just week, the group slams the DTIC for its "lack of response to the industries previous engagements", that there are "pay claims that have been overdue for more than 18 months, some 24 and others 36
months" and demanding the "Expediting of approval of outstanding applications, many of which have been
delayed for over 10 months".
"The last adjudication committee meeting was held in February 2024. The DTIC have
since continued to receive applications, without approving them thus creating more
backlogs which needs to be remedied," the group says.
Producers say that the industry had made collective submissions in previous years to the DTIC of which none have ever been addressed.
"We want detailed explanations when claims are not fully paid out as per approved
amounts in the approval letter. We are calling on the minister to sanction a full external investigation into
maladministration of the incentive by the DTIC and to get to the bottom of how this
once well-functioning incentive has fallen into disrepair and mismanagement."
"We demand to see the statistics the DTIC have on record on the incentive scheme
since its inception namely the amount of funds assigned to each different scheme over
each of the years the scheme has been operational."
"Our aim is not confrontational but constructive and productive engagement for the benefit of
the industry's growth, and broader social and economic development for the country."
"We seek a functional and systematic rebate that supports economic growth and ensures a
sustainable future for our industry and the potential it has to create jobs, draw in tourism and
foreign direct investment, and enhance our national pride."
Film rebate maladministration
Ayanda Sibisi told TVwithThinus "we have tried for over a year to reach out to the DTIC and its officials just to have a conversation and understand the grounds why, for example, there is a delay in payments and why there isn't adherence to the guidelines."
"The key thing for us is the DTIC has not had any adjudication meetings for over 10 months. It basically means that no project is going to be greenlit, or not project can get any sense of can they continue filming. That means jobs can't be generated and it damages the economy and industry."
"There are also delays with payments. The DTIC is still battling to make back payments from 2023."
Sibisi says "the big issue is about the maladministration and the systems".
"If you look back between 10 to 15 years, South Africa's film rebate system was working".
"Again, if you are trying to reinvent the wheel, it doesn't work. There are at least 120 countries using the same type of incentive. If it's working for at least 120 countries, why would you then think it's specifically not working for, or in, South Africa, if previously it has worked?"
"Again, if there is any sort of justification from the department to say this is because of this or that reason, we would then be required to say 'prove it to us in terms of an economic study as well as stats'. Because without that, there is no clear justification around for example why they feel that South Africa's film and TV industry is not contributing to the South African economy - which we do."
TVwithThinus reached out to the DTIC for comment on the industry's complaints and demands.
The DTIC said it had no response.
