There are still those who have not received full support from the Culture Guarantee program.

Approximately one and a half years after the approval of the projects supported by the sub-program “Culture of guarantees” for the business structure, there are still companies, part of the amount attributed to them to receive.

Garantia Cultura, with a total allocation of 53 million euros, is a support program for artistic creation and programming created by the government in the context of the pandemic and divided into two subprogrammes: one for companies, managed by COMPETE 2020 (under the Ministry of Economy) and with an allocation of 30 million euros, and another for creative organizations managed by GEPAC (under the Ministry of Culture), with an allocation of 23 million euros.

Delays in payments under the creatives subprogramme were already known, and Culture Minister Pedro Adão y Silva updated the number of affected projects at a parliamentary hearing in July. Then the official named 30 projects, the terms of payment of the second tranche of which exceeded thirty days.

Lusa has requested a new data update from the Ministry of Culture, but has not yet received a response.

However, on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the presentation of the Portugal Contemporary Art Guide “app” in Lisbon, the Minister of Culture said that “there is practically no delay in the Culture component.” “I think it’s close to zero. The economic part is working to catch up, I can’t tell you the exact number,” he told Lusa in response.

According to data published on July 29 on the GEPAC website, 1,095 projects have been supported, worth €21.8 million.

Payment delays in the fabric business sub-program were condemned last week in an open letter from Associação Espetáculo – Portuguese Agents and Producers (AEAPP) addressed to the Minister of Culture.

In the letter, AEAPP said that in 39 applications for a culture of guarantee in the business structure subprogramme from its partners, “only two amounts of support provided were transferred in full, and it is certain that in some cases the payment of the second and third tranches is delayed by six to eight months.”

AEAPP’s Rafaela Ribas said in statements to Lusa that the two employees who received the three tranches completed projects in June last year. “They were the only ones [a receber as três tranches]”, he clarified.

Payments under the subprogram for creative formations are made in two tranches of 50% each, and for household fabric – in three: the first – 50%, the second – 35% and the third – 15% of the cost. support provided.

The list of projects supported by the business fabric sub-program was published on the COMPETE 2020 website on May 31 last year. And on September 21 of the same year, the then Minister of Economy, Pedro Siza Vieira, at the opening of the “Trojan Horse was the Unicorn Initiative” said that Garant Culture had already supported about 600 projects in various fields, while 30 million euros had already been paid to cultural producers, concert halls.

Over the past few months, Lusa has asked the Ministry of Economics for updates to this data several times. In the previous government, Lusa was placed under the care of the Culture. In this government, he received no answer.

At a meeting in July this year, the two assistant secretaries of state for tourism told AEAPP representatives “that they are aware of the compromise between the ministries to get everything sorted out by the end of October,” Ribas said.

The association met with two MPs after requesting a meeting with the economy minister and the state secretary for tourism.

However, Lusa spoke to some businessmen who received support from Garantia Cultura, who still need to receive some of the support, who asked for anonymity.

Maria (not her real name), who owns a micro-enterprise, received the first tranche last year, after which she began the project, which ended at the end of December. About a month later, he submitted a report on the execution. Within the agreed period, 30 working days, he received the second tranche.

“I received a request for clarification in February, which was answered on the same day. After that, no one said anything to me. I sent requests for clarification and, like many others, received an answer about what is being treated, until today”, he said, lamenting that “what started out as help turned out to be a nightmare.”

Also Artur (not his real name) has already received the first two tranches of project support, the progress report of which was submitted on 18 February. 15% of the total amount is now not enough, but “in small companies, seven to eight thousand euros is a lot.”

Before receiving the second tranche, he had to resort to banks, now he “avoids doing the same”, although he has already paid off the loans.

“I emailed and tried to call but nothing. This confuses. It was a poisoned gift that ended up strangling [as empresas]”, – he said, adding that he knows cases of companies “that did not even receive the second tranche.”

This is a micro-enterprise Amelia (name changed), which will receive the “second and third tranches”.

The first tranche was paid in May last year, the project was implemented in October of the same year, and the performance report was submitted in December. However, he has received several document requests from COMPETE 2020, which he has already submitted.

“They always ask for the same thing. Since September, I have received five requests for clarification. [deste ano]. Even with the documents on their side, they claim that I should send something else. I had to advance money, I had to resort to loans,” he said.

Even though Amelia feels “very tired of this situation”, she believes that she will “get into a good port”, since the businesswoman “did everything right and it should work.”