Pretoria - A review commission is being set up by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) to investigate problems faced by the local creative industry.
The commission will look at, among other things, the distribution of royalties. "The commission will have powers to investigate the ills, make findings and recommendations," according to Deputy Minister Thandi Tobias-Pokolo.
The commission follows a consultative process in which Tobias-Pokolo met with industry roleplayers in April this year to discuss challenges faced by the industry. President Jacob Zuma met with the industry (http://www.buanews.gov.za/news/09/09111715051002) in November last year.
Nominations for individuals to serve on the five-member review commission in closed on Monday. The department had placed adverts in newspapers calling on the public to nominate persons to serve on the commission.
According to Sidwell Medupe, the department's head of communication, the commission will run for six months after which it will submit a report to Minister Rob Davies. The report will also be tabled in Parliament.
Medupe said the department wanted to look at all problems faced by industry. "The department is trying to empower them so that it becomes an economically viable sector that is formalized," said Medupe.
