The Future of Cultural Heritage Institutions in South Africa

The controversy around the Nelson Mandela Museum in Mvezo in the Eastern Cape Province South Africa has led me to question the future of museums development in the country.  However, my reservations about the future museums development in the country do not only emanate from the controversy around the Nelson Mandela Museum in Mvezo.  The Robben Island Museum where most of the South African political activists, including Nelson Mandela among others, were detained has been surrounded by controversy in the recent past; varying from missmanagement of funds to lack of capacity by those tasked with the responsibility of managing and promoting the institution.

The question that develops from the above is: what is the future of cultural heritage institutions in South Africa (e.g. museums, galleries, theatres, and interpretation centre's).  Existing government policy frameworks and legislations, such as the White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage (1996); the National Heritage Resources Act, No. 25 of 1999; and the Cultural Heritage Institutions Act, No. 119 of 1999,  have failed to address challenges faced by South African heritage institutions in their variety of forms.  In 2006 we had of existing cultural heritage policy amendements in the country; however, the results  and effectiveness of these amandements are still to be seen.  One of the primary reasons for challenges faced our cultural heritage institutions, museum to be specific, in the country is that they are not given enough space in existing cultural heritage policies/legislations: they are often mentioned in passing.  Even the Cultural Heritage Institutions Act, No. 119 of 1999 which we had anticipated would take active role in encourging the development of museum culture in the country as legislative framework for museum failed its mandate.  Instead of taking a wholestic approach to the establishment, development, managenment, as well the romotions of museums in the country it instead stressed or emphaised the place of national museums, the flagship instituions.  Private, City, and Community Museums are no where mentioned.

The newly proposed National Museums Policy Framework by the Department of Arts and Culture South Africa is curious, but also interesting.  First it still puts emphasis on the "National"...even though it claims to accommodate among other museums: private and community museums.  I think the discussion around museums policy framework should focus on South African Museums Policy Framework to cover a broad spectrum of  cultural heritage instituions in the country, to include galleries, theatres, and enterpretation centres as forms of cultural heritage institutions that could be used for cultural expression, education, protection and promotion of South African cultural heritage and contestation of ideas by communities they surround.

Hopefully it will also curb dowm corruption in the museum sector by setting norms and standards for funding optons of museums in the country, but also their Governance.

Nkosinathi Tomose
Founding Director: Art, Culture & Heritage Africa.cc
E-mail: acha.cc@gmail.com
Cell: 078 163 0657