By Tione Andsen

Dowa, July 11, Mana: Government has expressed its commitment to ensuring that developing of regulations for the establishment and operationalization of the national arts and heritage promotion fund should encompass the inspirations of the creative industry.

Deputy Director responsible for Arts and Crafts in the Department of Arts, Macdonald Maluwaya said this Thursday during a Technical Review Committee meeting on the establishment of National Arts and Heritage Fund at Chikho Hotel in Mponela, Dowa.

he said the development and establishment of the regulations would help the sector do their activities in a well-coordinated manner.

“We noted that the absence of the regulations was making the sector to fail to implement and coordinate their efforts in promotion of the inspirations of creative and heritage sector. We need to have the regulations in place to help the sector address some of the challenges they were facing in sourcing funding when they want to have projects in place,” Maluwaya explained.

He noted that progress for process was satisfactory and was in line with the time frame of the implementation period and the technical committee team was trying to consolidate and scrutinize what the consultants have produce as draft regulations.

Maluwaya added that the drafting of the regulations need to take into consideration the aspirations of the creative and heritage industry in order help make the sector move in the right direction.

The Deputy Director believes that once the regulations are in place this would enable Parliament to pass the Creative and Heritage Bill to make them operational.

Senior Assistant Executive Secretary responsible for Culture programme for National Commission for UNESCO-Malawi, Christopher Magomelo said the draft regulations have been produced and there was good progress in ensuring that come into force.

He said project was moving very well according to the time lines as per the contract with the Department of Arts.

“We are hoping that Technical committee members will use their knowledge to express their views in accordance to the sector there are representing in the committee,” Magomelo hoped.

A Member of Creative Sector, Ezais Mkandawire said it was pleasing to noted that the draft regulations have taken shape within short period of the time.

“We are looking at areas that have been missed and improve on certain areas which were not well presented in the draft regulations. We need to come up with a representative regulation for the creative sector,” he noted.