In Part 1 of this gripping whodunnit, we’ve established that the South African government has helped murder the film industry. Now, we try to figure out what can be done to bring it back from the dead. When Parks Tau was appointed as the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition following the establishment of the so-called Government of National Unity in 2024, some observers were enthusiastic.
A relatively (stress onrelatively) uncorrupt cadre was now in charge of a truly adult portfolio. If nothing else, Minister Tau sells himself as a capable technocrat. Yes, he inherited a department in disarray, and it remains in disarray.
Specifically, by the time he was appointed in July 2024, film production rebate applications hadn’t been adjudicated for over a year. There has been almost no movement since. (As is the custom, no one at DTIC submitted to Daily Maverick’s interview requests.) Read Part 1:Who killed the SA film and television industry?
Read Full Article on Daily Maverick
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Spoiler alert — the government In part, this dysfunction emerges from an inability to set coherent policy, and then to coordinate it appropriately. It’s also about priorities: DTIC emphasises the “trade” part of its portfolio, without defining what kind of trade and with whom, and what it offers the economy that other stimuli and incentives cannot. (Unlike many other countries, South Africa’s response to the Trump 2 tariff regime has been pathetic.) There have been several outreach sessions with the industry, and a number of protests culminating in the most recent, which saw representatives hand over a missive to the ministry.
The recommendations couched within aren’t universally accepted, but they largely suggest two things: The first is to take political control of the rebate process away from government bureaucrats who are not elected to office, and nor are they appointed to share their ideological point of view. The second is to streamline the application process, so there’s less work for producers, and less work for bureaucrats who will no longer need to arm curl a 40kg chunk of paperwork before lunch. Australia, Canada, the UK and Ireland use a simple Refundable Tax Credit system that is applied for, and paid out, through their respective revenue services.
This has several obvious advantages. SARS is spreadsheet-centric — the maths either works, or it doesn’t. SARS, one of the more trusted institutions in this country, has vast experience with BEE compliance, and would probably trust its own auditing and adjudication processes in that regard.
A second, slightly less streamlined option would be a Transferable Tax Credit, which allows the rebate to be “sold” along to a corporate purchaser, who provides the cash. This, of course, costs money, but it does allow a value chain to emerge.
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