Difference between arts funding crises in SA, Eswatini

MBABANE – As Eswatini’s creative community continues to demand accountability and funding transparency from ENCAC, many local artists are turning to South Africa’s robust, turbulant Arts funding sector for comparison.

In South Africa, the National Arts Council (NAC) is the principal state funding body. The scale and complexity of the NAC’s operations provide both massive opportunities and significant administrative challenges that contrast sharply with the issues facing Eswatini’s smaller arts landscape.

The primary advantage of the South African system is the sheer scale of funding made available by the state.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, government allocated hundreds of millions of Rands via the Presidential Employment Stimulus Package (PESP) specifically for the creative sector.

The large, targeted funding streams provide substantial capital for projects, infrastructure development and employment for artists, which is rarely seen in smaller economies.

The NAC operates via a structured, grant-based application system with defined funding cycles, clear reporting requirements, and specialised funding categories, for example, theatre, literature and dance. This formalisation provides a clear process for artists to follow.

When major crises involving fund mismanagement have occurred such as the 2021 PESP scandal, the South African Government, through the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has historically intervened by initiating forensic audits and ordering the suspension of officials.

This powerful external mechanism ensures high-level accountability.

Despite the extensive funding, the South African model is plagued by persistent administrative inefficiencies and ethical concerns that generate constant friction with the artist community.

The most significant flaw is the recurring issue of internal mismanagement.

For instance, the NAC once famously overcommitted funds, approving far more projects than its budget allowed, leading to months of delayed payments and financial distress for contracted artists.

The process of applying for and receiving funds is often complex and highly bureaucratic. This can lead to significant delays in payment, sometimes crippling artists who rely on those grants for survival.

Despite the formal structures, South African artists frequently voice frustration over a lack of transparency, alleging that grants often benefit those with political connections or institutional access rather than independent or emerging talents.

Why Eswatini’s discontent looks different

The situation faced by the Times of Eswatini creatives, who have publicly voiced their exhaustion and demanded proof of movement from Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC), stems from a fundamentally different problem than that in South Africa.

While South African artists often fight over the mismanagement or slow disbursement of substantial, clearly earmarked government funds, Eswatini creatives are primarily fighting over the availability, allocation and transparent distribution of limited funds.

The core concern in Eswatini is not that a massive grant was mismanaged, but that the creative sector feels systematically unsupported and lacks confidence that the modest funds ENCAC does receive are being distributed fairly or effectively.

This essential lack of structural support, rather than a mass administrative scandal, is what drives the local artists’ deep frustration and demand for basic accountability.