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People’s Post
CAPE TOWN
Concern over museums KAYLYNNE BANTOM KAYLYNNE.BANTOM@MEDIA24.COM
H
eritage Day has come and gone but museums, the custodians of the country’s heritage, are being neglected. This is the view of the Simon van der Stel Foundation (SVDS), the oldest heritage lobby group in Cape Town. In a letter addressed to Iziko Museums, the foundation recently stated that it was concerned about the lack of continued maintenance of the buildings of Iziko Museums, especially Rust en Vreugd, Koopmans de Wet House, Bo-Kaap Museum, The Old Town House (Michaelis Collection) and Bertram House. Ian Pretorius, chair of the SVDS, says: “Even before the Covid-19 lockdown we have noticed that these buildings are in urgent need of maintenance. We are aware of a leaking roof and rising damp at Koopmans de Wet House. The general shoddy appearance of Rust en Vreugd and its garden is also evident. The same situation applies for the BoKaap Museum.” Pretorius also raised concern about security at these premises and the maintenance of the contents and displays that are housed in the said buildings. “Over the years we have raised concern about the heavily reduced opening hours of the museums (Koopmans de Wet House and Rust en Vreugd are only open two days a week. Bertram House is not open at all). This is not good enough.” He says Iziko is tasked to run their museums properly and to share it with the nation; adding that by closing the doors or only opening it for two days a week they do not fulfil their mandate. Rooksana Omar, chief executive officer at Iziko Museums, responding to the foundations concerns says that the department of public works and infrastructure (DPWI) is the “custodian of national heritage buildings while the department of sport, arts and culture (DSAC) are the user of the buildings.” Omar says: “Although not the custodian of these buildings, the DSAC allocates funding for the maintenance and repair of the
The Simon van der Stel Foundation is concerned about the lack of continued maintenance of the buildings of Iziko Museums PHOTO: IAN PRETORIUS
buildings.” She adds that Iziko is a public entity and a substantial percentage of the grant it receives from the DSAC is used to manage 11 museums, a planetarium and a social history centre. “Iziko simply does not have the funding to employ more staff or implement all the maintenance projects needed.” Omar says the impact of the nationwide lockdown had a knock-on effect on Iziko as no income could be generated for nearly six months.
According to Omar Iziko has security measures in place but says it cannot be shared with the public. But Pretorius feels Omar’s explanations are simply not good enough and plans on taking the matter up with the DPWI and the South African Heritage Resource Agency (Sahra). “We will approach Sahra who should manage important declared national and provincial heritage sites and we want to alert the tourism sector. These museums play a vital role in tourism for Cape Town. We must get
them back to shape again.” Helene Vollgraaff, president of the South African Museum Association, says museums play an important role in society and should be preserved. “Museums can sometimes barely cover operational costs. The relevant governmental department must come on board. Some of these buildings has been neglected for quite some time and they are expensive to fix up.” The DPWI did not comment at the time of going to print.