South Africa’s once-booming film and TV industry remains under threat as the film incentive scheme under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) seems to remain dormant.
The Save SA Film and TV Jobs Coalition has declared that its engagement process with the Department over restoring the Film and Television Production Incentive, has reached deadlock and called for urgent intervention.
Local productions that once drew international investment have shrunk by almost 50%, with an estimated R3.8 billion in foreign funding lost since Covid.
The uncertainty also threatens thousands of jobs across the industry.
At the same time, the DTIC has not publicly provided an explanation for why the incentive scheme has stalled.
It also declined an invitation to respond on The Money Show.
Stephen Grootes interviews Luke Rous, executive committee member of the Independent Film Producers Organisation (IPO).
Rous attests that they’ve been engaging with the Department as a result of the protest action that took place at the beginning of 2025 and at the start of this year.
“Our picket action outside the DTIC offices and Parliament in Cape Town resulted in a Portfolio Committee meeting on 17 February where the DTIC were summarily given a bit of a smack on the wrist and asked, what is going on, why have you not been paying out these incentive claims or receiving any new claims for the last two-and-a half years?”
The IPO’s attempts to get to the bottom of this has been a frustrating process, he relates: “Almost six months into it now and we’ve had no joy.”
Rous says they have by now lost faith in the ability of the leadership of the DTIC’s film unit to continue the negotiations.
“We’re asking Parliament and the DTIC minister to remove the leader of that unit so that we can negotiate with somebody who we have more faith in.”
They know that money for this particular budget has been approved by the portfolio committee, Rous goes on, following the halting of the incentive scheme for two-and-a-half years over a a contingent liability of over R2 billion.
“The debt is now reduced to roughly R233 million, and they have received their next year’s budget allocation… and we were just really confused over why they are not spending it. Why can we not restart the adjudication committee, and why can’t we go out to the industry and give the good news and start restarting things?”
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