The Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture, in analysing factors concerning the unpreserved heritage of former President Nelson Mandela’s younger days, has called on the Department of Arts and Culture and the Nelson Mandela Museum to preserve this heritage and the documents associated with it after visiting the NMM.

During the two-day Portfolio Committee oversight visit to the museum in Umthatha on 14 and 15 September 2016 and a subsequent meeting held in Parliament, the committee evaluated the museum’s performance of their mandate to preserve the history of this world-renowned icon.

“The meeting appreciated the excellent work done at the Nelson Mandela Museum, of safe-keeping, preserving and displaying all the items received as gifts by President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. The recorded history and heritage preserved and presented in audio, video and verbally narrated to visitors by the tour guide impressed the Committee,” said Mrs Xoliswa Tom, the Chairperson of the Committee.

Mrs Tom said that the Committee highlighted the importance of strengthening the relationship between the museum’s council and the Mveso Council responsible for preserving the history and heritage of Mandela’s birth place.

However, she raised the concern that not enough is being done to protect and preserve the heritage of eMqhekezweni, the area where as a young man Mandela grew into the leader he would become.

On behalf of the Committee, Ms Tom also raised compliance challenges with the Generally Recognised Accounting Practice 103 (Grap 103), newly introduced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. This new arrangement resulted in several of the entities in the Arts and Culture Portfolio regressing in terms of findings of the Auditor-General. Grap 103 is an accounting standard that prescribes the uniform accounting for classifying and recording heritage assets and regulates related disclosure requirements. Public entities reporting to the Department of Arts and Culture must comply with the requirements set out in the standard.

Portfolio Committee Members raised other concerns about the security of artefacts housed in the museum, while expressing their happiness with the state security cluster for providing clearance for the security establishment at the museum, as the items held by the museum are irreplaceable.

Committee Members have committed to visiting the museum unannounced to ensure that there is adherence to strict security measures and to ensure that lessons learned here can thus be replicated in other museums.

The Committee expressed its appreciation for the selflessness of museum council members as their term comes to an end this month, and also expressed the hope that the new council will fly the Mandela flag ever higher.

 

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture, Ms Xoloswa Tom