Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism, Sport, and North Wales, Gareth Davies MS, has criticised the Welsh Government spending £41,600.90 in February 2025 on Watch Africa CIC, an organisation that runs the annual Watch Africa Film Festival in Cardiff. According to its website, the festival launched in 2013 and celebrates African cinema, aiming to highlight the richness and diversity of African storytelling through film screenings, workshops, filmmaker Q&As, and cultural showcases.
Mr Davies questioned the decision to allocate public funding to the festival at a time when public finances in Wales are under significant pressure and Wales continues to experience the longest NHS waiting times in the UK, while a number of Welsh cultural and artistic institutions have faced severe funding challenges.
He added that his criticism is not directed at the festival itself, but at the use of taxpayer money to support it, arguing that publicly funded culture and arts spending should prioritise Welsh culture and arts, particularly given the closure of National Theatre Wales in 2024 following loss of funding.
Commenting, Gareth Davies MS said:
“While I support the Watch Africa Film Festival operating in Wales, it’s concerning to me that the Welsh Government chose to spend over £41,000 of taxpayers’ money on this project last year at a time when families were struggling and our NHS remains in crisis.
“When funding is scarce and vital services are under strain, it’s hard to justify public money being used for events that should be capable of standing on their own two feet, especially when flagship Welsh cultural institutions like National Theatre Wales were allowed to collapse due to a lack of financial support.
“The Welsh Government needs to reassess their priorities and ensure that limited culture and arts funding is focused on supporting Welsh culture, and organisations that preserve and promote our own national identity.”
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