#internationalmuseumday 2023

#internationalmuseumday 2023 Just my thoughts

Trying to find information on the closure of the Melrose House Museum is like trying to find the so called weapons of mass destruction. I recently went to the museum and to my surprise the information on google is correct, the museum has closed down.

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The house is where the treaty of ending the second boer war was signed and unfortunately it has closed down. The house was built in 1886 and since 1978 it has been turned into a museum that is operated by the government in Tshwane, in which the DA led coalition took a decision to close down the museum. The artefacts, history and interior of that house are significant to our history and tell a story of how the treaty signed between the British and boers was the beginning of the takeover of the republic.

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It is a shame that the government in Tshwane has let this momentous piece of history to close, not only because of the rich history of the museum but also in the wake rising unemployment that has been plagued in the country. The other museum in Tshwane that’s a sight for sore eyes is the Pretoria Art Museum, even though it is operational the lawns of the museum look like an appalling urban jungle and that description is not supposed to sound romantic at all. As a former student of Pretoria Technical High School that is adjacent to the museum, those lawns were always kept in pristine condition, now I ask myself what happened, and if the lawns look that way what is happening inside the museum.

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Museums are sources of cultural heritage and education, in our country our museums have had to deal with a long battle of financial woes and lack of demand. Despite the covid 19 pandemic that worsened the funding woes of museums, we can date as far back as 2005, there has been an outcry on how museums in the country can be funded and aided in order to create a sustainable financial backing.

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Attractions play a huge role in the tourism value chain, with our rich culture and heritage we need to sell it through new and existing institutions such as museums. On Heritage Day, September 24th?1997 then President Nelson Mandela said “With democracy, we have the opportunity to ensure that our institutions reflect history in a way that respects the heritage of all our citizens. Government has taken up the challenge. Our museums and the heritage sector as a whole are being restructured”

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On this year’s international museum day 18 May 2023, I’d like all tiers of government to start prioritising the restructure of existing museums, we as a country will not expand in opening new museums if we do not create a culture of attractive historical institutions that the public can spend their hard earned money on.?

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The restructuring of museums starts with government reducing the red tape of policies that govern museums. There are more than 50 policies and several state or provincial or municipal companies that operate and legislate museums which is a hindrance to development. These policies need to be restructured so that the Department of Tourism has full control over the operations, marketing and oversight of these attractions.

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In recent news The department of public works is about to spend R152 million in order to assist the Robben Island Museum with various issues. The Robben Island museum’s march 2020 annual report revealed that the company sent back R102 million from a government grant that was meant to assist with infrastructure maintenance projects. This goes to show that the government needs to streamline policies, with Robben Island as a case in point, it is maintained by Department Of Public Works, operated by Department Of Sports, Arts And Culture and marketed by the Department Of Tourism. This to me is not conducive in ensuring that the museum can perform at its optimum level.

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Other state owned companies such as Ditsong Museums and Iziko Museums are not performing to the best of their abilities and more public scrutiny needs to be put on these companies. The Tswaing Crator Museum in Soshanguve operated by Ditsong Museum, suffers from dilapidation to the point that the entrance to the museum is almost unrecognizable. The Ditsong Museum company has had a running battle with one the community organized group called the Jukulane Business Forum which needs urgent attention cause that museum can’t look the way it does even if it’s in the township.

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Our rich history from Soshanguve to District 6 should be a prioritisation for all spheres of government, as our country grapples with unemployment we have a low hanging fruit in our museums that we should fix, polish up and sell back to the local and international community.