No money for Naledi
2008-07-21 13:04
Johannesburg - Government has stopped funding the Naledi theatre awards because the Department of Arts and Culture does not have sufficient funds, the minister said on Monday.
In a statement minister Pallo Jordan said the ministry had funded the awards since 2005 in order to assist the sector establish a token of merit to people in the industry.
"From the onset we explained to the organisers that this was seed money to assist the award to take off.
"After this was achieved the theatre sector, like all the others, was expected to fund the awards itself through sponsorship, fund-raising or even self-generated funds, " Jordan said.
He explained that the department used different criteria to determine funding for the arts and culture sector.
"Funding proposals received by the department and the ministry that are congruent with the government programme of action may be funded on the basis of merit," he said.
Jordan stressed that the availability of funding was what determined whether a proposal would be funded.
- SAPA