Independent Media reports that the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has paid more than R50 million to artists and athletes as part of the third phase of relief funds that totalled about R70m.

Briefing the sport, arts and culture portfolio committee on Tuesday, deputy director-general Cynthia Khumalo said they had concluded the adjudication of applications. “As at July 22 the total number of individual applications was 7,446 from the arts and culture sectors,” Khumalo advised. She indicated that 1,167 of the applications had been duplicates, resulting in 7,220 being adjudicated. Khumalo also said 6,332 artists had been approved by adjudicators, while 763 applications had been declined. “A lot of effort was expended in ensuring that as many of the applicants that had put through their applications received funding and were adjudicated, and positive results followed. The total number of rejected applications sits at fewer than 1,000,” Khumalo advised. She added that 5,100 applications had each been successfully paid R10,000. A total of R51m had been paid to the beneficiaries at the time of preparation of her report on 22 July. Khumalo said the 5,100 successfully-paid artists excluded about 252 who were being followed up on due to their bank accounts being closed, or them having provided incomplete information. “A total of 303 were being processed at the time of reporting,” she said.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mayibongwe Maqhina at Independent Media
• Read too, Mthethwa dismisses claims that nothing done for artists as ’propaganda’, at Independent Media

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