Media statement: Limpopo Arts and Culture Association (LACA)

It has come to the attention of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, that the Limpopo Arts and Culture Association (LACA) – an independently-funded non-profit non-governmental organisation (NGOs) – has been taking a number of grievances against the department to the public of Limpopo and South Africa as a whole, through deliberations with various forms of media, including an internet petition.

The department needs to categorically state that a high profile delegation has recently engaged with LACA in a meeting requested by themselves, during which mutual challenges and ideas were shared. The department therefore finds it surprising to learn that after these deliberations, LACA continues to engage with the media on the issues that were already brought to the meeting in question.

The department is regrettably in no position to assist LACA with its immediate
predicament of suitable premises needed, since the Association had been asked to vacate their previous premises, by the Polokwane Municipality. The department currently is not in possession of premises that will suit their requirements, nor is the department in any position to immediately assist them financially, due to budgetary constraints and targeted funds already allocated to specific projects, as set out in the Department’s Annual Performance Plan.

The department has never refused to work with any institution and welcomes all
endeavours that uplift and support the artists of this province. We have also tapped into the knowledge and expertise of members of LACA’s management, in the form of Mrs Arlette Franks, who was Treasurer of a Statutory Body of the Department - the Limpopo Arts and Culture Council (LACC) - for the recently expired three-year term. However, the department’s funding for projects cannot be misinterpreted as funding for arts and culture only, since projects with regard to school sport, sport development, recreation, museums, heritage, libraries, archives and language services also need sufficient funding.

The department also has the normal administrative commitments in terms of Human Resource Development, Strategic Planning etc. These items within any institution also need funding, for the department to function, as any business owner, government institution or NGO will be able to confirm. In terms of the Siyadlala and School Sport Mass Participation Programme and the building of community libraries, the department receives national funding in the form of two conditional grants.

These grants, included in the department’s total allocation, should not be misconstrued as funds available for additional projects outside of the grant’s conditions. Apart from all of these financial commitments, the department also funds its statutory bodies. However, the funding can only cover administrative costs, due to the earlier-mentioned budgetary constraints.

The department has, on several occasions, supported performing and visual artists to the best of its ability and available funding. The department remains the second smallest in the Province, in terms of budgeting and staff compliment and the ideal number of artists we would have wanted to support and assist remains unreachable.

We invite LACA to continue engagements with the department, but we regrettably cannot be held ransom in the media by one individual or institution, as the province is vast and there are many organisations seeking funding and assistance, from all over the province and especially in the rural areas of Limpopo. LACA is not the only institution, including sports federations and other projects with regards to sport, arts, culture and heritage, that have requested funding and assistance in the past. The department will, however, where necessary, assist such accredited bodies in their quest for private funding, in the form of endorsements or advice.

The department recently tabled its annual budget in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature and the document is available for public consumption.

Enquiries:
Malebana M.M
Tel: 015 284-4160
Cell: 083-981-5265
E-mail: Malebanam@sac.limpopo.gov.za

Source: Limpopo Department of Sport, Arts and Culture