During the tabling of the provincial budget, Finance MEC Gadija Brown said Arts and Culture will receive an amount of R633.328 million in the 2023/24 financial year.

Brown has also agreed with the statement made by Premier Mxolisi Dukwana that one of the biggest festivals in the province, the Mangaung Cultural Festival (Macufe) can be re-shaped and repackaged into a major economic catalyst for the province.

It is anticipated that Mahasa will make mention of how much will be allocated to Macufe 2023 to make it bigger and better.

ALSO READ: FS department bulk money goes to paying employees

Mahasa highlighted in her previous speech that the bulk of the budget goes to paying employees’ salaries. More than R384 million of the R665 million budget allocation goes to compensate employees.

"This means that about 43% of the department's budget is dedicated to programmes and infrastructure projects. It is a given that we also need human resources to carry out our mandate. While we have pointed out that about 57% of the budget goes to the compensation of employees, the department is still not anywhere near a full complement of its staff establishment," she added.

ALSO READ: Plans under way to make Macufe bigger and better

At the time she said events such as Macufe, an annual showcase of African arts, culture and various sports disciplines that takes place in Bloemfontein, will help raise considerable funds. Some people regard Macufe, which was established in 1997, as the biggest festival in the province and one of the largest in South Africa.

Over the previous years, Bloemfontein has seen scores of people in attendance. However, opposition parties in the province view the festival as the ruling party’s piggy bank. Macufe took a break for two years during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Its comeback in 2022 was marred by court cases questioning the legitimacy of the appointment of the service provider.

OFM News