PSIP submission for the developmental spend for the Sector

In the last 3 years ACTT has been able to win major National Budget battles by going straight to the Ministry of Finance and by bypassing our line-Ministry (the Ministry of Arts) who seemed never interested in the progressive agendas of the Sector. ACTT was able to convince the Finance Minister and his technocrats- and other allies in government we would canvas- of the validity of our programmes. That’s how for the first 2 PPG Budgets ACTT was able to win 75%+ of the progressive agenda for the Sector in the Budgets- gains the Sector had not been able to win since Independence. The problem was that there was no implementation of these agendas. For a number of reasons.

One big reason was because the Sector’s implementing arm—the Ministry of Arts—was never on-board the Sector’s vision. ACTT’s president Rubadiri Victor accepted an appointment as Advisor to the Minister of Arts because it came with the express mission of Implementation of the Progressive Agenda. This means that the opportunity exists- for the first time in the history of the Sector- for the vision of the Sector to also become the vision of the Minister and Ministry! This of course is easier said than done, but the process has now been engaged.

The most important outcome of this has been the thrust by Rubadiri to get the Ministry to adopt ACTT’s and the Sector’s progressive agenda as its own. This is a developmental agenda meant to retool the sector from a $1.7 billion earner annually to becoming a $6- $7 billion earner annually within 4 years. This transformation is possible by the creating of an enabling ecosystem of legislation, institutions, policies, and enabling fiscal programmes which are international Best Practice. The fail-safe for implementation is the creation of an Arts Council based on the renowned Canadian and British Best Practice models as the vehicle for implementation.

This document is the full Budget document for the 2013/14 PSIP. On Budget Day September 9th 2013 the sector and the nation will see if government has heeded the Sector’s warnings and adopted the Sector’s vision.