Latest news with #DTIC
Zawya
21-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Government eyes sugar sector exemption to boost local supply
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has published draft regulations proposing a block exemption for South Africa's sugar industry, which would allow producers, retailers, and manufacturers to coordinate on procurement and pricing of locally produced sugar. Proposed policy shift to aid local industry If enacted, the exemption would permit forms of cooperation normally prohibited under the Competition Act, including joint planning and pricing negotiations. The goal, according to the DTIC, is to reduce import reliance, protect rural jobs, and support the long-term sustainability of the industry. The proposal is part of the broader Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan 2030 — a government-led framework that includes commitments from both public and private sector stakeholders to stabilise and transform the sugar sector. Industry body welcomes move Industry group SA Canegrowers has backed the proposal, saying it would create space for 'inclusive decision-making and sector stability' while enabling discussions that lead to fairer pricing for consumers. The organisation represents over 24,000 small-scale and 1,200 commercial growers, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. In a statement, SA Canegrowers said commercial users such as food and beverage producers are critical to the local sugar value chain. Ensuring a commitment from these buyers to prioritise local sugar would help secure thousands of jobs in farming communities. Ongoing threats to sector viability The sugar industry has faced sustained pressure from cheap sugar imports and the Health Promotion Levy (commonly referred to as the sugar tax). These factors have added to concerns over long-term viability, particularly for smaller producers. As part of the Master Plan process, stakeholders have also explored diversification opportunities into areas such as biofuels and sustainable aviation fuels. According to SA Canegrowers, the draft exemption would allow for necessary coordination among producers and investors to advance these projects without violating competition laws. Next steps The draft regulations were issued earlier this month by Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau. No implementation date has been confirmed, and the proposal is currently open for public comment. If approved, the exemption would mark a significant shift in how collaboration is handled in the agricultural value chain, potentially setting a precedent for other sectors under pressure. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
The Citizen
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Trump's film tantrum: Brandon Auret calls on Gayton McKenzie to invest in local films
'I'm a firm believer in that when the door is closed, jump through the window,' actor Brandon Auret told The Citizen. Auret has called on Minister Gayton McKenzie to use Donald Trump's 100% tariffs on films made outside of the US, as an opportunity to invest in local film industry. Picture: brandon_auret/ Instagram South African actor and filmmaker Brandon Auret has called on Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie to use Donald Trump's 100% tariffs on films made outside of the US as an opportunity to invest in the local film industry. The US president recently proposed a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced content. If implemented, it would apply to locally made films, potentially even productions filmed here and series sold into the US. 'I'm a firm believer in that when the door is closed, jump through the window,' Auret told The Citizen. Opportunity Auret, who most South Africans were introduced to when he appeared on the SABC 3 soapie Isidingo as Leon du Plessis, said he doesn't blame Trump for his decision because it's always been much cheaper for foreign films to be made outside of the US. Auret said the decision was however sad for the South African industry because not enough films are being made by locals. 'Hollywood screwed itself, especially with Los Angeles. The prices that they were paying to get location licenses, to get permits to be able to film in a studio- the executives screwed you over, it's not other countries, mister Donald Trump,' said Auret. 'The big money guys, they chased the films away. It became too expensive to shoot in Los Angeles.' The South African actor said that if one takes a movie with a $10 million budget in the US and shoots it in South Africa, the conversion rate means the budget swells to at least R180 million. 'You could shoot the exact same quality film in South Africa, with our crew, our cast. It makes sense not to shoot in a country that's not overcharging you for everything.' He said this was an opportunity for McKenzie to step up for the local film industry. 'Not just the sport side of it, but the arts and culture side of it. Get your mayors, councillors from different areas to put money into a film and let every place in South Africa become a film location,' expressed Auret. 'There's no backing. Nobody is doing a thing about the film industry, the DTIC and the NFVF has screwed over people,' Auret claimed. The Citizen contacted McKenzie's office for comment, but was unsuccessful at the time of publishing. Any response will be included once received. ALSO READ: SA's film success faces a Trump-sized threat 'No backing' In March, members of the Independent Black Filmmakers Collective, Independent Producers Organisation and other industry players protested outside the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) offices in Tshwane, voicing growing concerns over the DTIC's failure to address critical issues impacting the industry. In April, the South African Screen Federation (SASFED) criticised McKenzie for appointing National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) CEO Vincent Blennies. 'The minister's disregard for established rules and guidelines can harm the regulatory frameworks that have been put in place to ensure fair distribution of resources, transparency and effective governance in the sector,' read a statement from SASFED. While addressing McKenzie as the minister, Auret called on mayors and politicians to invest in domestically-made films. 'Invest some of that money into filmmaking. Get those films to come over to your little town, little cities [and] shoot there, employ the locals,' said Auret. He said the benefit is that it creates a whole ecosystem, including accommodation, food, and transport services. The shooting of a film could involve as many as 180 people. 'The money spent on a film doesn't just go into the film; it's not like everything ends up on the screen. There's a lot of money spent outside of the film' ALSO READ: South Africans make their presence felt at the Met Gala in New York Tourism Auret says there's a lucrative tourism factor when people shoot films across South Africa. The impact of cinema on tourism is enormous. The fantasy film series The Lord of the Rings significantly contributed to New Zealand's GDP through tourism. The series, which was filmed entirely down under, boosted tourism by about 50%, bringing in an estimated NZ$33 million (R600 M+) annually. By 2018, New Zealand welcomed 3.6 million visitors annually, and tourism became the nation's largest export industry. Auret said South Africa has more to offer tourists than the country's three biggest metros, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. 'My whole big thing is not just about making films, not just about investing in the communities that are in those cities, but opening up the tourism. Getting people to go 'wow, that movie was shot where?'' NOW READ: REVIEW: Riky Rick's last album 'Boss Zonke Forever' epitomises his passion for young people
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
South African Filmmakers Sound Alarm Over Rebate Crisis: ‘Everybody Is Struggling'
South African filmmakers are sounding an S.O.S. over the country's beleaguered cash rebate system, with leading industry bodies demanding answers over unpaid claims and calling for greater transparency from the officials overseeing the cashback scheme. The country's 25% cash rebate system has effectively been crippled by what industry representatives say are unexplained delays at the Dept. of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), the government body tasked with overseeing the rebate, which owes untold millions of dollars in unpaid claims to local filmmakers. More from Variety 'The Shadow Scholars' Sheds Light on Multibillion-Dollar 'Fake Essay' Industry Built on the Work and Wits of Kenyan Writers Raoul Peck Blasts 'Incredible Ignorance' of Trump White House, Compares Project 2025 to Hitler's 'Mein Kampf': 'We're in the Hands of Crazy People' 'Capturing Water' Spotlights South Africa's Grassroots Fight to Preserve Precious Resource Before It Runs Out Dozens of applications are in limbo, awaiting approval from a department that hasn't met in more than a year, a fact that Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri, CEO of production powerhouse Known Associates Group, described as 'shocking.' 'We should never have gotten here,' Phiri told Variety at the Joburg Film Festival. On a recent morning in the South African capital of Pretoria, hundreds of members of the local film and television industry picketed outside the offices of the DTIC, demanding that it fast-track applications awaiting rebate approval and settle its outstanding debts to projects that have already been approved, with some claims dating as far back as three years. 'Pay the claims! Pay them now!' Known Associates Group chairman Joel Chikapa Phiri demanded, to rousing cheers from the protesters. The picket, which was led by industry bodies including the Independent Producers Organization (IPO), the Independent Black Filmmakers Collective, Animation SA and the Documentary Filmmakers Assn., drew on mounting anger from filmmakers who say their industry is paralyzed by ongoing inaction from government officials. During the event, Joel Phiri delivered a memorandum to a representative from the DTIC which outlined the industry's grievances and included a list of demands, including the need for an overhauled rebate system 'which is simple, reliable and certain, with reasonable time frames for application approval and payment, reduced red tape and a low cost of compliance.' The memorandum highlighted the contributions made to the South African economy by the film and TV sector, which before the COVID-19 pandemic employed roughly 60,000 full- and part-time workers while generating 8-10 billion rand ($440 million-$550 million) annually. The industry was hit hard by the pandemic shutdown, and recovery efforts have been hampered by the turmoil with the rebate, with dozens of projects effectively stuck in a holding pattern as they await approval. 'This situation has been worsened by limited communication from the DTIC, and the absence of a clear strategy to foster growth and sustainability,' the memorandum reads. 'This inaction threatens not only the livelihoods of those directly involved in these industries, but also the significant economic contributions that the sector makes to South Africa's economy through its multiplier effects.' (The DTIC had not commented to Variety as of publication.) The rebate struggles have only compounded a difficult economic reality for the industry. 'Our finance pools are quite finite and quite small. We get limited finance from the [National Film and Video Foundation]. We get limited finance from the DTIC, if it even works,' producer and IPO chairperson Marc Schwinges said during a Thursday session at Johannesburg's JBX market. 'It is challenging to work within the framework of South African finance. It's challenging even with a functioning rebate, but it's increasingly challenging without.' Nomsa Philiso, CEO of general entertainment for MultiChoice, said the delays at the DTIC have been 'painful' for many producers. 'Everybody is struggling because of the economy. The [free-to-air broadcasters] are also struggling,' Philiso told Variety. 'It's tough. There aren't unlimited funds, so it puts a lot of pressure on a company like MultiChoice to keep the wheels turning,' The company, which is South Africa's largest commissioner, feels a 'responsibility to the industry,' she added, insisting that MultiChoice was 'not slashing the budgets' anytime soon. 'Not commissioning is really not an option…[because of] the impact it has on the value chain,' she said. Cape Town's typically thriving production services industry is also feeling the squeeze, with the uncertainty surrounding the rebate adding to the broader turbulence of recent years, including COVID-19 shutdowns and the dual Hollywood strikes. Lynne-Anne Vosloo, CEO of production services giant Moonlighting Films, admits that after experiencing 'one of the busier years we've ever had' in 2023, business has been slow to return to pre-pandemic highs. 'We all thought that once the strikes were over, there would be an influx of work — which, strangely, didn't happen at all,' Vosloo told Variety. Nicola Unsworth, head of production at crosstown rival Film Afrika, said the South African industry 'definitely felt the impact' from the corporate mergers and cost-cutting moves that have tightened commissioning budgets in Hollywood, noting that a lot of projects that had been in development 'fell off the slate.' The company has been bolstered by Netflix's live-action 'One Piece' adaptation, which recently wrapped Season 2 in Cape Town. The streamer's biggest production in South Africa to date has 'really helped sustain a lot of the industry,' according to Unsworth, with sound stages at Cape Town Film Studios fully booked by Netflix. Nevertheless, Unsworth said several projects that were in talks with Film Afrika to shoot in South Africa ultimately declined because of the rebate uncertainty. The company's COO, Marisa Sonemann-Turner, said her team has now 'moved away from the reliance on the rebate [in negotiations] and focused more on the value for money that we can offer,' highlighting South Africa's relatively low production costs and favorable exchange rate. 'We really bend over backwards to make your money work,' added Unsworth. 'And it all goes to the screen.' For Moonlighting's Vosloo, currently servicing Gina Prince-Blythewood's star-studded fantasy epic 'Children of Blood and Bone,' the lack of dialogue between the South African government and industry has been especially frustrating. 'We aren't able to give our clients any kind of a proper update, because there's no communication from the DTIC to the industry,' she said. 'Absolutely nothing. We're kind of in the dark.' In the wake of the protests in Pretoria, Known Associates' Tshepiso Phiri said DTIC deputy minister Zuko Godlimpi proposed a working committee to facilitate dialogue with the department, as well as bi-weekly meetings between industry and government reps, something she described as a 'big step.' 'He was very clear that the department must make a plan to pay the outstanding claims,' she said. 'We don't have any definites, but at least they're communicating.' Meanwhile, others in the historically resilient industry remain cautiously hopeful that they'll find a way to break the impasse. 'People are very optimistic. No one is throwing in the towel,' said Philiso. 'If you think about the industry historically, we've had dips before,' added Vosloo. 'We've had times where the industry has dipped, but we've always risen again.' The Joburg Film Festival runs March 11 – 16. 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