The Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport has weathered the storm of Covid, and has presided over an unprecedented recovery of the cultural and sporting season. This is the clear message of the Department’s 2021/2022 Annual Report, which was tabled today and will be voted on by the Provincial Legislature this week. In a victory for a sector which has suffered more than most during the pandemic, the report also discloses that the Department has exceeded its target for job creation by creating more than 900 jobs during the reported period.
Due to their very nature, the cultural and sporting sectors suffered massive disruption as a result of the Covid pandemic and the associated lockdowns. The restrictions on physical interaction curtailed the ability to perform for audiences, produce work collaboratively, or play sports in front of spectators. The associated financial impacts were made worse by a blatantly uncaring attitude from Minister Nathi Mthethwa and the National Arts Council, which bordered on outright contempt.
By contrast, the Western Cape Government sought to protect its sporting and cultural sectors with relief funding during the pandemic. Now, as Covid restrictions have eased, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) has worked around the clock to get the cultural and sporting sectors running again, allowing artists, musicians, actors, and sportspeople the chance to begin repairing the damage caused by the pandemic.
The Department’s entities also excelled, with the Western Cape Language Council, Western Cape Cultural Commission, and Heritage Western Cape all achieving or overachieving their objectives for the year. These entities placed a strong emphasis on preserving and protecting the culture, history, and heritage of the Western Cape, especially amongst indigenous communities.
MPP Gillion Bosman says: “I am exceptionally pleased by the results contained in the Department’s Annual report. They prove beyond any doubt that the Western Cape’s cultural and sporting sectors have entered a phase of strong and sustained recovery from the disruptions of the pandemic, due in large part to the interventions and measures taken by Minister Anroux Marais and her Department. I believe that the lessons learned from the pandemic have made this Department ready to continue this recovery, and to push forward towards next year, which will see the Western Cape prove a world-class host to several major international events, whilst also bringing our local Arts, Cultural and Sporting communities along.”