Film industry gets a boost
The newly-launched Eastern Cape Film Hub is expected to stimulate economic activity, drive transformation, and create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.
Minister of Sports,Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa said the facility was established to address the lack of film infrastructure.
The film hub was recently launched in Buffalo City Municipality in a collaboration with the National Film and Video Foundation, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, Eastern Cape Provincial Arts and Culture Council, and Cortex Hub.
It will give aspirant filmmakers access to production and postproduction facilities.
“The hub will provide affordable, subsidised equipment for film production and post production. It will also hopefully attract big production companies to shoot in this province, stimulating the local economy,” said the Minister.
He added that the cultural and creative industries and in particular the audio-visual sector, have long been recognised as a catalyst for economic growth in South Africa, with the potential to contribute immensely to the economy and employment. The purpose of the film hub is to bring together all areas of film production under one roof, from pre-production to post-production, thus providing a high-end studio equipped with multiple stages.
The hub is capable of meeting the production needs of highend budget productions while simultaneously servicing television and commercial production.
“It will also provide access to production and post-production facilities at sustainable rates as well as screening facilities. We are intent on our purpose to see more skilled artists and original South African stories coming from all areas of this culturally rich country,” said the Minister.
ures, such as technologies, to drive down security costs at branch level.
The board has instructed Sapo management to review all current contracts after the AuditorGeneral found serious irregularities in some of them.
“Some contracts had retainers paid to several service providers without performing any duties and the scope was not clarified. Management must therefore make sure that every current contract continues to offer value for money, and that the services or goods procured through the contract are essential,” said Sapo board chairperson Colleen Makhubele.
Staff reskilling and optimisation to improve productivity will also be a priority.
“A simple example is our plan to introduce maintenance teams. Where an ageing postman, for example, finds it hard to still complete his rounds, he can apply to be trained as an artisan, who will form part of a maintenance team for our buildings,” she said.
Sapo has shifted focus to improving its operations and customer relations in order to improve the customer experience in line with the Universal Postal Union standards, and to retain revenue through better service.
“We have now brought an international tracking system into production. International items will keep their foreign tracking number in SA. Customers can follow the processing of their items all the way and processing is sped up significantly.This saves costs and our employees can be used much more productively,” Makhubele said.