The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is calling on the Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR), Mbali Hlophe to provide a detailed outline of the relief fund package which will help Gauteng arts crafters affected by the pandemic lockdown.
Amongst the many that are suffering greatly during this national lockdown are the arts crafters whose business is mostly dependent on both local and international tourism.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the arts crafters as the tourism sector has shut down and operations have stopped completely.
Many Gauteng local crafters are desperately in need of help and a directive on how they can tap into the business relief initiatives.
Furthermore, many of these local crafters who are situated in Gauteng rural communities do not have access to the internet in order to complete online applications hence it is important that the MEC should announce the various ways they can access relief funds as well as how they can access and submit their application forms.
The MEC should provide a plan of action for reaching out to arts crafters who are in rural communities and townships.
The DA will continue to put pressure on MEC Hlophe to ensure that the Gauteng SACR relief fund includes the arts crafters. We also call on the MEC to urgently outline details of the relief package to help ease the impact of the Covid-19 economic crisis on the livelihood of those in sports, arts, culture and recreation in this province.