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It is no secret that the South African film sector is in a critical condition due to historic ANC corruption and mismanagement within the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.

Delays in critical film incentives and funding payments are having a detrimental effect on projects, the sector's ability to attract investment, and its ability to create jobs. It is therefore crucial that it is all hands-on deck across government to ensure the sector is supported.

As government, we must cut red tape, find the necessary funding, and support the sector as much as possible because there is real competition from other countries that are recognising this gap and poaching critical economic investment and opportunities.

As government, we must also ensure that the people occupying critical positions understand the sector, know its role players, and are committed to growing the industry.

It is therefore deeply unsettling to learn that, instead of recruiting specialists into the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture who can, through the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) Council, fight this crucial battle for the industry, Minister Gayton McKenzie has seemingly focused on continuing his political party's habit of appointing cadres.

On the NFVF Council are:

• Simon Carl Clarke, a former business partner of Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene, as well as Gayton's former partner who featured on their e.tv reality show. He was also elected to the National Arts Council before it was disbanded, while simultaneously serving as the Chairperson of the Johannesburg Roads Agency.
• Omphemetse Mokgosi, a person linked to Patriotic Alliance Head of Media Bakang Lethoko and referred to as family on her social media.
• Like Simon Clarke, she also occupied a seat on the National Arts Council and previously served as a non-executive director on various City of Johannesburg boards while the Patriotic Alliance held the MMC position. These include Metrobus, the Johannesburg Roads Agency, and the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO).
• Siphosethu Mthamzeli, who also occupied a non-executive director position in the City of Johannesburg under Kenny Kunene's oversight and is linked to Patriotic Alliance Head of Media Bakang Lethoko through a company called Black Women in Slate Mining, where she was one of Bakang's employees.
• Tony Ferreira, who is a co-director in a company with Patriotic Alliance legal head Eugene Botha and one of Eugene's former business partners, Yolandi Erasmus. Tony Ferreira also previously served as a non-executive director on the Metrobus board.
• Andrea Gordon, who was seen embracing Gayton McKenzie at a spinning event in October 2024, two months before she was appointed to the NFVF Council, is alleged to be a family friend. Her husband, who is now the chairperson of the Artscape Theatre, was also present at that event.

Cape Town requires a flourishing film industry to drive investment, create jobs, and build infrastructure that will last for decades.

I cannot sit idly by while a Council tasked with developing, funding, and promoting the South African film and television industry is hijacked.

We have seen where this leads in the City of Johannesburg. The evidence is clear. Now the same people who have brought the Rea Vaya bus service and the City's road infrastructure to their knees are tasked with safeguarding the film industry.

This cannot be allowed to happen.

The Democratic Alliance has already taken action by referring the alleged cadre deployment to the Public Protector. We will continue to pursue accountability and demand answers on the appointment of individuals to the NFVF Council.

But Minister McKenzie must also take responsibility for the crisis within his portfolio. The film and television industry cannot afford political appointments, bureaucratic delays or government departments passing the buck while projects, investment and jobs are lost.

I therefore call on Minister McKenzie to urgently review the composition of the NFVF Council, provide full transparency on the appointment process and ensure that suitably qualified industry specialists are appointed to positions responsible for the future of South Africa's film and television sector.

At the same time, government must urgently address the delays in processing film incentives and funding applications, including those administered through the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. The industry needs action, not another round of government departments blaming one another while South African jobs and investment disappear.

We require urgent accountability to safeguard the arts and film sector. The Minister cannot continue to pass the buck while the industry he is responsible for protecting is allowed to decline.

Issued by JP Smith - Cape Town Metro Regional Chair