Gayton McKenzie is South Africa’s new arts minister – scholars outline what his 7 priorities should be

South Africa’s Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) has often been the focus of protests by the country’s artists. A string of ministers and former ministers have been tainted by claims of favoritism, corruption and elitist practices when it comes to funds.

The new minister overseeing the department is Gayton McKenzie, an opposition politician who won the post through negotiations to form a 2024 government of national unity. Leaving sport aside for now, we asked some arts policy researchers to tell us who McKenzie is and what he should do to fix the department and grow the cultural industries.

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Who is the new arts minister?

Gayton McKenzie has previously participated in the cultural sector as a published author and businessman. As leader of the Patriotic Alliance, he is probably going to prioritize his party’s ideologies and style of governance in his new role. Every minister has had their own style of managing this ministry within the parameters of the arm’s-length principle, where no direct political interference should take place in the management of the cultural sector.

As a political representative, McKenzie prizes a social media-based communication style. It’s a form of barrierless engagement with the public. He portrays himself as accessible and shares opinions on social media platforms like any other citizen.

So, it was unsurprising that the first week of his tenure saw him prioritizing an assumed brand of transparency by releasing lists of COVID-19 arts funding beneficiaries. This was a political statement about rejecting the favoritism, corruption and elitist practices which the department may have previously been involved in. He has also visited arts and heritage institutions. Essentially, he was establishing his brand of justice and fairness in relation to the distribution of the department’s resources.

Since democracy, South Africa has seen a wide range of arts ministers with different skills, ideologies and backgrounds who don’t resonate with the cultural sector. In our analysis, few seem to have understood the value of culture in a country with such a turbulent political history and demographic diversity.

The department, as journalists have pointed out, is vital to the country’s soft power. This is the power to gently persuade other countries into desirable behaviors through culture and other means. So, it seems counterintuitive that a minister with authority over harnessing the country’s soft power is consistently xenophobic.

The situation highlights two debates in the sector. One is around the perception that the government demotes political representatives into the role of arts minister. The other is how it won’t be effective in reaping long term soft power if it doesn’t appreciate the value, complexity and strategic position of the ministry in relation to prioritized portfolios such as International Relations and Cooperation, and Trade, Industry and Competition .

What’s the reputation of the department he inherits?

The department has been viewed as out of touch with the needs of the sector. This was seen in the Iam4theArts protests.

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has also not always been successful at communicating its achievements to the sector or the public. Hence there are misconceptions about its purpose or that it drains the public purse.

So McKenzie’s emphasis on openness to communicating with the public may be an advantage. It could highlight the department’s successes, such as the visibility of South African culture in Southern African Development Community countries through music showcases. Or building relations in the African Union, the Commonwealth and the United Nations. In other words, its contribution to the government’s priority of a “better Africa and world”.

What should be on his to-do list?

Judging by open letters by arts advocacy organizations and activists on social media, the minister has a lot to discuss with the sector around governance structures and policy propositions.

They advise, among other things, that he disband the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa and that he police staff at his department. That he stops the planned merging of the National Arts Council and the National Film & Video Foundation. That he align policies in development with current statutes or overhaul them.

Here are some broader points we think are pertinent:

● Building on existing foundations

The minister would benefit from continuity from previous administrations. There have been milestones such as the Mzansi Golden Economy policy strategy, maintained by at least three ministers. Its purpose was to reposition arts, culture and heritage as a player in economic development.

The Mzansi Golden Economy was not fully embraced by the sector because it commercializes arts and culture. McKenzie should perfect the strategy.

● Finding points of connection outside the sector

Research shows that factors outside the sector have an impact on the prosperity of artists and cultural entrepreneurs. Some of the factors are access to arts education and digital communications technologies; better tax or other incentives; the digital divide.

It was with optimism that we observed, in a recent interview, that the minister is willing to engage in intergovernmental cooperation with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and the Department of Education.

● Dialogue with the sector

Rising protests within the sector indicate dissatisfaction with the implementation of policies, strategies, funding mechanisms and the like. Direct dialogue with an array of arts advocacy organizations (for example the South African Arts and Culture Youth Forum, the Sustaining Theater and Dance Foundation and Iam4theArts) would give a different perspective on some of the sector’s most pressing issues.

Consulting a wide spectrum of these organizations would also help reduce gatekeeping and power imbalances.

● Cultural centers at South African missions abroad

Through the intervention of the previous minister in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa saw the establishment of a cultural center in the US. Similar centers in South Africa’s missions abroad could grow cultural diplomacy programmes, further the trade of South African cultural goods globally and increase the visibility of South African arts and culture.

We are aware of previous initiatives by the arts ministry to advocate for a cultural portfolio in missions abroad, but this is a different moment with opportunities on a different scale.

● Entrepreneurial skills and digital infrastructure

Young people are tech-savvy and are always online. If their entrepreneurial skills are developed, the minister can take advantage of what their online presence can do for culture and the arts. Much is happening online, for example dance trends and the evolution of music genres such as amapiano, that highlight this potential.

● Copyright bill

The minister should break the impasse on the signing of the controversial draft Copyright Amendment Bill, aimed at updating the country’s outdated 1978 copyright laws.

● The role of a policy research body

Lastly, there’s a need to fine-tune the role of the South African Cultural Observatory, a national research entity that can coordinate research outside current affiliations to specific universities.

Social reform is necessary and we hope the minister values ​​the power of culture and the arts to change the lives of people, just as he does with sports. The power of culture is not instrumental only; it’s a mirror of the health of South African society.