Apartheid legacy continues in arts and culture’s captured ministry
Though the revised white paper promises positive changes, indications that the Department of Arts and Culture is "captured" and the minister "compromised" have created much secrecy around their functioning. The cultural and creative industries sector in SA turn over about R100bn a year, which is 3% of GDP. In addition, culture is one of the four pillars of gross national happiness. About 6% of all jobs in SA are creative ones. "Culture is dynamic, representative and central to global changes — in particular restitution, training and ubuntu. It is important to youth empowerment, job creation and the forced revolution of the digital economy," says South African Roadies Association (Sara) president Freddie Nyathela. But the apartheid legacy of strangling access to proper information, skills development, training and education has continued at the department, though in a different guise. In 1994, the then department of arts, culture, science and technology was given to the Inkatha Freed...
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