The NAC took to Twitter to refute allegations that it deployed the Red Ants to evict sit-in protesters from its offices, in light of the third week of protest action against the council.
The National Arts Council (NAC) of South Africa took to Twitter on Monday, 5 April 2021, to refute claims that it has deployed the Red Ants to evict protesters. The protesters have been staging a sit-in at the council’s offices for the past few weeks, in light of the supposed inexplicable disappearance of funds that were meant to be allocated to providing relief for artists that were affected by the lockdown.
The NAC, along with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, has refuted the suggestion that the funds have disappeared. Although the entities have confirmed that there are funds missing, the department is believed to still be conducting an investigation to ascertain what happened to the funds.
However, the protesters have committed to staging the sit-in until either the council or the department gives them answers and resolutions to remedy the matter. In light of this stance, the propagating of the NAC deploying the Red Ants was given credence, but the council has denied the alleged inaccurate reports.
See the post below.
FAKE NEWS ALERT
Please note that the NAC has not called the Red Ants to evict artists sitting at our offices. This information is not true and is misleading.
We urge the cultural and creative industry practitioners to consider this issue as fake news. pic.twitter.com/V3BnPCEMCN
— National Arts Council of South Africa (@nacsouthafrica) April 5, 2021
Sabelo Makhubo
s.makhubo@politicalanalysis.co.za
