101 days into South Africa's lockdown, the Relief Fund process has provided much-needed relief and empowered more than 2,000 practitioners in the creative industries.
Despite the significant socio-economic obstacles posed by COVID-19 restrictions, we remain resolute in improving the quality of life for South Africans. As a department, we understand that our mission is to save the lives of our sector workers and enable them to use their skills to improve the lives of themselves and their communities.
A recent letter sent by the beneficiaries to the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture thanked them for what the Relief Fund has enabled them to do and reminded them of the real reason they started the Relief Fund process in the first place.
Many artists and athletes have expressed their gratitude for the relief they have received from the ministry. One such beneficiary, Ms. Loyiso Lindani, said of the funds she received from the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture: My book “How HIV Saved My Life'' was featured in the South African Publishers Network, which helped me pay it back. This book is also featured in the National Library of South Africa, which has an ISBN. I would like to thank you. D.S.A.C. ”
Firstly, empathy as a value system to operate with the sector is an intention, and this will become even more evident as we develop our strategy of 'Beyond the COVID-19 sector'.
Publisher: Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture Operating Framework”. We therefore note concerns from the industry that the implementation process of the Relief Fund has taken longer than expected. We empathize with the impact of our long-term process.
This exercise has been challenging for our sector, but the principles of empathy, responsiveness and agility formed the basis of a measurement framework to engage our sector as we move forward.
Looking to the next steps in the process, as we have indicated from the beginning of this journey, we are actively exploring the possibility of a second application process to further institutionalize this operational framework. We will continue to collaborate with the industry again. For your convenience, the latest list of beneficiaries and digital applications (service providers) can be found on our official website (published on July 6, 2020). Additionally, as we have consistently done, we will continue to update the public on developments regarding the COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the South African Government.
