SOUTH AFRICAN HERITAGE RESOURCES AGENCY Annual Report FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2009 Acknowledgements It would have been impossible for the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) to achieve what has been reported in the proceeding pages without the cooperation of various State Departments, associations, organizations and many interested individuals. This continued support and guidelines are appreciated by the Council of SAHRA and its staff. Finally, the Council would like to thank its dedicated staff at the Head Office and Provincial offices for their enthusiasm and initiative during the year. Contents COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP 4 APPLICABLE ACTS & OTHER INFORMATION 4 LETTER FROM THE CHAIRPERSON 5 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S MESSAGE 6 CORPORATE AFFAIRS 10 • Information and Auxilliary Services Unit 11 • Information Communication Technology Unit 14 • Human Resources Management 18 HERITAGE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 26 HEAD OFFICE UNITS 26 • Archaeology, Palaeontology and Meteorite Unit 26 • Maritime Unit 34 • Architectural Heritage Landscape Unit 40 • Grading & Declarations Unit 42 • Heritage Objects Unit 46 • Burial Grounds & Graves Unit 54 PROVINCIAL OFFICES 60 • Eastern Cape 60 • Free State 66 • Gauteng 74 • KwaZulu Natal 78 • Limpopo 80 • Mpumalanga 84 • Northern Cape 88 • North West 96 • Western Cape 100 LEGAL UNIT 114 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 118 Council Membership NAME STATUS 1. MR PHILL MASHABANE Chairperson 2. MS LAURA ROBINSON National 3. TBA National 4. DR AMANDA BETH ESTERHUYSEN National 5. MR EDGAR NELUVHALANI National 6. MR HENK SMITH National PHRAs 7. DR MTHOBELI PHILLIP GUMA Western Cape 8. ADV. JUSTICE BEKEBEKE Northern Cape 9. TBA Eastern Cape 10. TBA Free State 11. TBA KwaZulu-Natal 12. TBA Gauteng 13. MS NOMVULA MOTLOUNG Mpumalanga 14. MS PHUTI JOYCE TSIPA Limpopo 15. TBA North West Applicable Acts & Other Information This report is submitted in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1999 (Act 108 of 1996) read with sections 4 and 20 of the Public Audit Act, 2004 (Act No. 25 of 2004); the Public Finance Management Act 1999 (Act 1 of 1999 amended by Act 29 of 1999); the Standards of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (Standards of GRAP); Treasury Regulations, 2001; the Equity Act (Act 55 of 1998); the Skills Development Act (Act 9 of 1999) and other applicable Acts and Regulations. In terms of the National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act 25 of 1999), the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) was officially established together with its Council to co-ordinate and promote the management of heritage resources at national level; to set norms and maintain essential national standards for the management of heritage resources in the Republic and to protect heritage resources of national significance; to control the export of nationally significant heritage objects and the import into the Republic of cultural property illegally exported from foreign countries; to enable the provinces to establish heritage authorities which must adopt powers to protect and manage certain categories of heritage resources; to provide for the protection and management of conservation-worthy places and areas by local authorities; and to provide for matters connected therewith. 4 SAHRA ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Letter from the Chairperson 111 Harrington Street CAPE TOWN 8001 The Minister of Arts & Culture Kingsley Centre Cnr Church and Beatrix Street Arcadia PRETORIA 0002 31 March 2009 ACCOUNTING AUTHORITY OF SAHRA Dear Sir LETTER OF THE CHAIRPERSON I have done a review of the financial statements of SAHRA for the 2008/9 financial year-end and have pleasure in presenting them to you. Yours faithfully Phill Mashabane CHAIRPERSON OF COUNCIL Date: 31 March 2009 5 SAHRA ANNUAL REPORT 2009 I am pleased to present the South African National Heritage Resources Agency’s Annual Report for 2008-2009. The presentation of our Annual Report fulfills our statutory responsibility to the South African people and its parliament. Having been appointed as the CEO of SAHRA at the closing months of February of this report, 2009 has presented itself as a busy and challenging, yet very productive year, thus far. The Chief Executive Officer’s Message This Annual Report provides a snapshot of the extensive range of issues that SAHRA has engaged with and it is a fair record of the many milestones achieved in pursuing our core function of the conservation and management of the nation’s heritage resources. What cannot be captured beyond the ‘word’ and pictorial images, the conventional modes of communication for such legislative compliant compositions, is the hours poured in by SAHRA staff to achieve its strategic objectives. There are many reasons for publishing an Annual Report, the one I consider the more relevant, is that any public institution should account for how it has utilized the resources, which taxpayers have contributed to fulfill its prescribed mandate. Furthermore, SAHRA carries out a legislative custodianship function, for which it is held accountable. An annual report should also be a tool that allows the South African public to constructively engage with us, so that we can improve on the delivery of our mandate. South Africa stands out globally as a country where its indigenous way of life/ heritage/history was throttled by an apartheid ideology: an ideology which divided the soul, spirit, identity and culture of a people. It is for this reason that broad and involved research initiatives focusing on previously ignored histories, what Foucault calls ‘subjugated knowledges’; be revisited and retold from the perspective of the marginalised, or for existing and emerging histories to be meticulously documented in creative and accessible ways. Heritage resources management must, however, guard against the use of heritage for sectarian purposes or political gain. As we allow our management experience, ‘borrowed’ from the past, to chart the way, we must be wary of the fact that we are not the authoritative wise voices of the future. We should rather allow the energized ideas of the young, the disabled and the voiceless to co-define with us the future we want. We intend enlisting them as our partners and constructive critics. 6 SAHRA ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Another challenge facing our toddling democracy is finding the recipe for forging a national identity that inspires respect, pride and an involved understanding of our diverse cultures. Heritage is not only a very broad construct, ranging from the individual to the whole of mankind but it is also made up of lived experiences. As South African people striving for unity in our diversities, we are constantly (re)writing our experiences on abstract murals to be read and defined by “those to come” as our heritage. It is important that whatever we do is punctuated by the questions: Is what we are doing worthy of our times? Does it form part of a legacy that we will never shy away from? Our inherited, evolving cultures are also what make up our collective heritage and affords us the lenses of interpreting and re-interpreting our natural and cultural environments. Therefore, in the crafting of our institute’s objectives, the ultimate should be processes and products that inculcate and restore our collective pride as a nation and helps channel our desires, which stem from values, focused on negotiating and adopting acceptable norms. Therefore, a multifaceted heritage such as ours can only guide our future through innovation and determination. To emphasise that heritage is not only about the past, the past is not original but echoes the known views of others such as Mbembe (2001) who states that: “to think relevantly about this time that is appearing, this passing time, meant abandoning conventional views, for these only perceive time as a current that carries individuals and societies from a background to a foreground, with the future emerging necessarily from the past and following that past, itself irreversible…..This time is not a series but an interlocking of presents, pasts and futures, each age bearing, altering and maintaining the previous ones”. It is with this in mind that SAHRA enlists its resources at hand in an effort to significantly increase the awareness of our heritage amongst all South Africans. Much has changed in the field of heritage. Heritage policies are more inclusive (towards town planning, the environment, regional planning, history and collective memory), have diversified and become multidisciplinary (involving conservation, dissemination, heritage enhancement, training, awareness-raising, cultural animation and creative activity). The actions of national governments are now backed up by those of local 7 SAHRA ANNUAL REPORT 2009 and regional authorities, professional and voluntary associations, foundations and other bodies. The academic and managerial concept of ‘heritage’ has been re-interpreted by the needs of communities. To them, ‘heritage’ must create jobs and put food on the table. The National Heritage Resources Act, No. 25 of 1999 (NHRA) states that; Heritage resources have lasting value in their own right and provide evidence of the origins of (South African) society and as they are valuable, finite, non-renewable and irreplaceable they must be carefully managed to ensure their survival. Heritage resources have the capacity to promote reconciliation, understanding and respect, and contribute to the development of a unifying South African identity. Every generation has a moral responsibility to act as trustee of the national heritage for succeeding generations and the State has an obligation to manage heritage resources in the interests of all South Africans. Heritage resources form an important part of the history and beliefs of communities and must be managed in a way that acknowledges the right of affected communities to be consulted and to participate in their management. Heritage resources contribute significantly to research, education and tourism and they must be developed and presented for these purposes in a way that ensures dignity and respect for cultural values. Policy, administrative practice and legislation must promote the integration of heritage resources conservation in urban and rural planning and social and economic development.