The DA welcomes the lifting of all regulations to allow for venues to operate at full capacity for the first time in over two years. We now call on the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, to ensure that those who depend on the sports, arts, and culture sectors receive the required support to recover from the devastating effects of more than two years of Covid regulations.

The announcement this week that venues and events may fill to full capacity was long overdue. While government, for months, ignored desperate pleas to open up, those people whose livelihoods depended on it suffered daily.

In the months of lockdown, the Department woefully failed to provide adequate support for artists and sports people. From the alleged mismanagement of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) funds to dismissing and ignoring the various serious concerns raised by the sectors, the Minister has dropped the ball and the people he’s mandated to serve have suffered terribly.

The sports, arts and culture industries finally have an opportunity to try and recoup the losses of the past 2 years, and Minister Mthethwa and his Department must work hard to support and enable them.

 

Issued by Tsepo Mhlongo MP - DA Shadow Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture