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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has established that valuable public documents have not been archived since 1980 as a direct result of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Arts and Culture’s failure to build and upgrade archive repositories in the province.

The DoAC has blatantly turned a blind eye to KZN’s archive repositories for decades, failing to recognize it as a top priority.  This is evidenced by the Department’s requests over the years to divert funding for the upgrade of these facilities.

The provincial Treasury made R169.349 million available to the DoAC in 2016/17 which was allocated over the MTEF period. This was made up of R2 million in 2016/17, R20.881 million in 2017/18 and R52.925 million plus R93.543 million in 2018/19. The figures were tabled in the KZN Legislature on 10 March 2016.

The DoAC requested that R18 million in funding be re-allocated from the 2017/18 budget to the 2018/19 budget. It then requested that another R68 million be moved from the 2018/19 budget to the 2019/20 budget. A further R138 million from the 2019/20 budget was then suspended to the Provincial Revenue fund.

Now the Department has been asked by provincial Treasury to self-fund the construction of a new archive repository during the 2021/2022 financial year. This after monies set aside for this purpose were allegedly used as part of KZN’s Covid-19 response. If the past is anything to go by, this will never happen.

KZN’s archive repositories house public documents such as marriage and divorce decrees, legal records, Bills, Acts, policies, major transactions undertaken by government, societal records of lineage, agreements, notices, birth and death records, photographs, newspapers, diaries – the list is endless.

Despite this, the existing provincial archives is in crisis, with priceless and irreplaceable heritage documents distributed between three sites, or repositories, all of which are either at critical mass or in a deplorable state.

Documents are required to be archived after 20 years, yet the last documents archived were in 1980, meaning that the DoAC is currently 41 years behind on this important task. It also means that crucial information relating to South Africa’s change from Apartheid to a democratic country are at risk.

Lack of space and poor archival facilities, government and other client Departments and private organisations are either destroying records or filing off-site in private document warehouses at high cost and risk. Further to this, thousands of documents were destroyed in the Metro File fire in 2013. Documents from the High Court are also piling up in basements and judges cannot find critical case records when they are up for review.

The Pietermaritzburg main repository is full. The Durban repository is in a rented dump of a building with archaic fire protection, surrounded by highly flammable textile warehouses and gambling dens. There is no parking, no disabled access or adequate security. It is a disaster waiting to happen.

Meanwhile, the Ulundi repository is housed in an old school Administration block, with abandoned outbuildings. There is no fire detection system or humidity control with acid migration on documents already showing effect. The Durban and Ulundi repositories fall drastically short of UNESCO standards for archive buildings.

KZN’s Arts and Culture Department’s so-called leadership has a lot to answer for after failing so miserably to uphold standards. This must not only include MEC Mavimbela but also her HOD/Accounting Officer, Mr Ntokozo Chonco, with evidence of immediate consequence management.

In the short-term, the DA expects Premier Sihle Zikalala to step up and immediately remove the MEC from her role. She is not fit to hold office.

Issued by DA KZN Spokesperson on Arts and Culture Bradley Singh