Hon Chairperson, firstly I would like to indicate that, as a committee, we received a lot of e-mails from the performers who are supporting this Bill and encouraging us to pass this Bill, big documents of e-mails that we received from the performers. There is an actor who acted in Emzini Wezinsizwa, I was disappointed when I saw him in a DA t-shirt. I hope he is watching this debate and see what the DA is saying about them. But I will also further invite the performers of South Africa to go on to page 24 of the ANC manifesto and see what the ANC is saying about creative workers.
Going back to the declaration, the Performers' Protection Amendment Bill is about the performer and his or her right to protection and to
maximise the economic exploitation of the rights provided in the Bill regarding his or her fixated performance. Performers are crucial to the national expression, and they form part of our daily existence. They are part of the fabric of society, its heritage and history. The Performers' Protection Act of 1967 became effective before television in South Africa and it is not aligned to global trends and developments as well as global treaties. The law is more than 50 years old, as the chairperson of the select committee was indicating. The creative industry has become synonymous with the challenges that include unfair contracts, resulting in the continuous signing away of the economic rights by musicians. The performers have not received royalties over time despite the continued use of their performances. For some performers, their rights to have their images represented as they prefer, are violated. The law is not aligned to global trends which impacted on the economic rights they could benefit from South Africa being party to international treaties. Sadly, many of our performers do not reap the benefits that they are entitled and live in poverty despite their fixated performances being repeated on television and even sold overseas to other broadcasters in the audiovisual industry for example.
The content of the Bill, the key features of the Performers' Protection Amendment Bill include the provision for the Minister ... [Time expired.] The ANC supports this Bill.
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