More than 800 applications received, $6m already disbursed to creative sector
Published:Sunday | January 2, 2022 | 12:09 AMYasmine Peru - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Members of the entertainment, culture, and creative industries have wasted no time in submitting their applications for a share of the $90 million special support package announced on December 18 by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange.
So far, more than 800 applications have been received, and 103 grants of $60,000 each have already been disbursed.
An elated Minister Grange told The Sunday Gleaner that every effort is being made to ensure that applications are processed as swiftly as possible and also that those found to be non-compliant are guided through the process. A special team is working every day, even on holidays, to make this possible.
“In less than one week, we have disbursed funds to the value of $6.16 million. And today [Friday], we have just verified another 55 additional applications to be uploaded today. We aim to have a three- to five-day turnaround time,” Grange said.
She added: “From the 800-plus applications so far received, we have divided them into compliant and non-compliant, and for those who fall in the latter, we are working with them. We have a hotline number that also receives WhatsApp messages. In order for the applications to be processed expeditiously, we are asking everyone to read the application form carefully.”
This grant represents the first time in history that the sector is receiving a grant of this magnitude – a fraction received grants of $40,000, $20,000, and $15,000 from the culture ministry’s budget last year as an emergency stop-gap when the minister sought to immediately alleviate the hurting right after COVID struck. The figure is a combination of the $40 million that was allocated by the finance ministry last year, but which was never received, and an additional $50 million allocated this year. And while the minister is delighted that individuals are benefiting financially, “small though it is”, she is equally happy that the sector is finally enjoying a degree of organisation hitherto unseen.
WIN-WIN SITUATION
“This is a win-win situation because what is happening is that we are connecting the dots and strengthening the sector through this exercise, which demands that all practitioners have to be a member of an organisation to be compliant and also sign up on the E-Registry. I feel like a painter doing work on a canvas. I had this dream to bring structure to a sector that has for too long been referred to as ‘informal’. Now, the E-Registry is being populated. Organisations such as [the Jamaica Federation of Musicians and Affiliates Union] (JFMAU), [Jamaica Music Society] (JAMMS), and [Jamaica Association of Composers Authors and Publishers] (JACAP) are welcoming new members. We do checks and balances with all applications, so if somebody says he is a member of JACAP and we send the list, and JACAP doesn’t have their name, we reach out and start the process to have them registered,” Grange explained.
The JFMAU has even reduced its membership fees to facilitate persons who are now registering in order to be compliant and benefit from this $90 million package. Among the persons who can benefit are singers, dancers, producers, actors, selectors, make-up artistes, stylists, designers, mixologists, entertainment writers who are members of the Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY), sound engineers, and those who work with sound systems at various levels “even if yuh lift up a box”. All, however, must be a member of an affiliate organisation and be on the E-Registry.
Grange praised her team for its commitment and singled out the Howard McIntosh-led Entertainment Advisory Board.
“We have teams that help persons who are non-compliant to get bank accounts. They can sign up and get a pre-paid card and access their funds through that. We are still fine-tuning the application form and have now added a field called ‘other’ so that persons can put in the entity where their funds must be sent, whether it is the credit union or the building society. I see where Gussie Clarke [JACAP executive] has even been assisting the older artistes with completing their application forms. We have already been receiving testimonials from persons who have accessed their funds, and although we had estimated that we would receive approximately 1,000 applications, we will continue processing even if it exceeds that number,” Grange promised.