Chairperson, although the DA supports the Arts and Culture budget, it is important that notice is taken of the following matters.
The first issue concerns the situation of South African artists. It is a major reason for concern that the transfers to the National Arts Council have been reduced by R15 million in 2010-11. However, what makes it even worse is the reason for the cut in the budget. This is because of the council's large accumulated surpluses, mainly due to unallocated grants over a number of years. This is totally unacceptable.
A number of performing arts are literally on the verge of closing down. Emergency steps have to be taken by the performers themselves to save their arts. This is why the National Arts Council has not been able to allocate the funds available for this purpose.
Secondly, the Investing in Culture programme is a reason for concern. This programme has the aim of providing empowerment opportunities for unemployed people. However, the reality is that the department is underspending on this programme. Surely, this is not on the interest of the people who have to benefit from this programme. Therefore, it should be a main priority with proper utilisation of the allocated funds.
The priority should not be international trips on which there seems to be overspending. It is clear that the department has a challenge in terms of financial planning. In this regard, it has to be stated that although the efforts in trying to root out corruption in the department are commendable, the department will have to ensure that the financial challenges are addressed and that the suspension of officials does not impact negatively on service delivery.
The recent court ruling on language legislation that has to be complied with within two years, does have specific implications for the department and specifically also for the budget. Again, the language programme has the smallest allocation, which is not sufficient. In the light of the language ruling, provision will have to be made to cater for this process. This is also a matter which will have to be taken into account by different government departments in future, especially where there is direct service delivery to people. [Applause.]