Market Theatre; Boer Republic War Museum & KZN Museum on their Annual Performance Plan

Meeting report

Opening remarks

The Chairperson said these meetings were very important not only for the Committee but the entities as well. In 2014 when she started out as the Chair of the Committee she was clear that the Committee would focus on the entities because the bulk of the budget goes to the entities and a number of observations have been made since 2014 which are positive and negative. Some entities are complying with the mandate but others are not adhering to what they are supposed to do and there is internal fighting within themselves and this is completely unacceptable.

Overview by the Department on the War Museum of the Boer Republic APP/SP
Ms Kelebogile Sethibelo, DAC Deputy Director General: Institutional Governance, said the War Museum has three main functions which are Administration, Business Development and Public Engagement. The Museum, which is a schedule 3A public entity, was established in terms of the Cultural Institutions Act, 1998 (Act No. 118 of 1998) and receives money from the DAC to finance its operations and issues with infrastructural needs. For the current financial year 2017/18, the Museum plans to implement the Minister’s key priorities to have new brochures that include English, Afrikaans, and Sesotho, the most common languages in the Free State Province. The 100 iconic items are still in process and the Museum also has to have reached an agreement with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for an exhibition on South African War (The purpose for this is the Rijksmuseum requested some items on loan from the museum and the exhibition already opened earlier this year.

The DAC needs to look at the Annual Performance Plan (APP) to see whether the entity’s strategic plan is aligned with the DAC’s strategy. The DAC strategic goals are to:

• To build human resource capacity and promote excellence
• To develop, protect and promote heritage
• To lead, coordinate and implement social cohesion programmes

The War Museum’s strategic goals are:

• To provide promotion of public accountability and corporate governance; Training and development of own staff
• Total of 2 permanent exhibitions and 1 heritage awareness campaigns
• Expand collections with 10 heritage items and conserve current collections; publications and educational outreach initiatives

In terms of human capital most of the senior management are still white and there are no black or people with disabilities in any senior position. The majority of black people are in unskilled positions meaning that there needs to be transformation with regard to employment equity.

The performance overview for quarter 3 in the 2016/17 financial year was 25% and 75% was not achieved mostly due to the school holidays, number of heritage items received, number of temporary exhibitions. Over the past 3 years 96% was achieved in the 2013/14 year,100% in year 2014/15 and 100% in 2015/16 meaning the museum’s performance targets were being achieved. Also over these 3 years the budget allocation for the entity has decreased in the year 2015/16 and due to this expenditure was more than income received, causing the entity to have a deficit. At the end of quarter 3 in 2016/17 the museum was on a deficit of R622 000. The audit outcome for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 years were unqualified, only the 2015/16 year was qualified – GRAP 103 (when an entity manages the biological transformation of an asset). The War Museum has 9 council members with 3 council meetings and attendance rate of these meetings is 76%.

The entity’s key challenges were infrastructure with increased costs that were not initially budgeted for, the DAC has intervened by transferring the funds which the War Museum needed to complete infrastructure development and sustainability. Another major challenge is financial with increased post-retirement benefits and the DAC is having engagements with National Treasury to try and alleviate these challenges in all entities that are affected. The implementation of GRAP 103 is also a challenge and a task team has been appointed between affected entities and National Treasury (NT or Treasury) to determine which heritage assets to evaluate and to place value on. Shortage of staff through the supply chain management unit has been an issue for the museum and DAC is exploring all possible opportunities to address this. The last major challenge is Audit fees, but the DAC has been informed that the War museum has been subsidised as it qualifies per the Public Audit Act (PAA).

War museum of the Boer Republic on their APP/SP

Mr Tokkie Pretorius, Director of the War Museum started by greeting the Member and DAC.

Mr T Makondo (ANC) interjected and asked where the Chair of the War Museum was.

The Chairperson asked the entity of the War Museum to introduce themselves before they went on with the presentation.

Mr Makondo further interjected stating the Committee needed to understand that the presentation was signed off by the Council and the Chair was supposed to give us that assurance.

Dr Jason van der Merwe, Chair of the Council: War Museum assured Members that the entity has gone through and overall rating of the Museum and has forwarded this over to the DAC. He also assured Members that the presentation was presented to the board and that the entity had even consulted with the Director General (DG) of the DAC on the presentation.

Mr Pretorius continued that the entity had 2 oversight visits this year from the Portfolio Committee of Arts and Culture in January 2017 and the Advocates for Social Cohesion in March 2017. The mandate of the War Museum is to promote and develop Heritage by means of conservation of heritage assets, and most importantly he mentioned transformation to correct imbalances regarding the South African War of 1899-1902. Based on this war the mission of the Museum is to collect any research, publications and items of display regarding the South African War.

The War Museum has 4 main goals, the first being education/research. This essentially implies that the entity should educate learners/visitors of the Museum mandate through educational programmes, publications and other initiatives. The entity is also considering going to schools to inform children about the Anglo-Boer War and create awareness so that learners can visit the Museum and also get valuable research about the history of the country. The objectives the entity plans to carry out these goals with, is by increasing the number of publications, research, films and partnerships the Museum has currently.  The highlights of the Museum are:

• Anglo-Boer War Journal
• “Gedenkuitgawe 1 & 2” – suffering of women and children during the war.
• Contributions to “Prisoners of War” & “Concentration of War” to name a few
• Hartskombuis
• Gedenkuitgawe – Op Kommando
• Verraaiers (Traitors) – Movie
• Modder en Bloed (Blood and Glory) – Movie
• 15 electronic databases
• Establishment of research centre

The partnership and memorandums of understanding included the

• DAC
• Free State Tourism
• University of the Free State
• Mangaung Metro Municipality
• National Heritage councils
• Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
• Leeds University, UK
• Liskeard Museum, UK
• New Zealand National Army Museum

For the year 2017/18, the War Museum plans to have three publications which include the British participation in the War, Anglo-Boer War in 100 objects, Prisoner of war handcraft in conjunction with National Lotteries Commission (NLC). Also, the research capacity will be increased through the website with 35 000 documents available in electronic format. Education development by creating awareness amongst the youth of the inclusive history of the South African War, this is one of the objectives of the Museum and in the 2016/17 year it visited 16 schools to create this awareness.

The highlights the entity has for education so far are:

• Establishment of Educational Centre and Children’s Museum
• Outreach program to schools with special focus on previously marginalized communities
• Opening of Toy Display 2014
• School Olympiad 2015 & 2016
• Youth Day events

For the 2017/18 year the entity plans to create an initiative called Museum on Wheels where transportation for educational staff during educational programmes are provided and with the help of the NLC the War Museum received vehicles to make this possible. It also plans to host the Museums annual school Olympiad on South African War on youth day so I can educate learners on Oliver Tambo and General De Wet leaders of the freedom fights.

The second goal which is to enhance Heritage Promotion/Skills Development by promoting the Museum and heritage sector in order to encourage tourism and create opportunities for economic development. Facilitating training to develop skills to the current and future workforce. Mr Pretorius emphasised the entities objectives for this is to promote social cohesion, nation building, national healing by proclaiming the inclusivity of the war and preaching that negotiation is a better platform than to retaliate to war. The Youth, Women’s and Heritage Day holidays will be used for promotion of this and for the public to have more information and accessibility about the War Museum.

The highlights for media exposure, website, special events are:

• The entity has had 67 newspaper articles in the last 5 years
• Being on SABC News
• Appearing on Morning Live for the unveiling of the Garden of Remembrance and Sol Plaatjie Hall
• The website was fully upgraded in 2015
• It also launched a Twitter and Facebook page in 2015
• In June 2014 Youth Day, it hosted and entertained a previously disadvantage school at the Museum
• On Heritage Day September 2014, the unveiling of scale models of historical monuments by the University of the Free State (UFS) Architecture Department.
• Mandela Day July 2015 the entity cleaned and conserved the Memorial Graveyard (heritage block)

The plans for this year is for the entity to display at the UFS the similarities between the struggle and the South African War on Africa Day. On Women’s Day, the entity plans to display for the entire month the role nine women played in the South African War. Their websites will also have regular updates and social media postings at regular intervals in order to promote the Museum. Another key objective is the skills development and the entity plans to achieve this by staff training, workshops, conferences and skills development programmes. This year alone the entity will have:

• Workshop on conservation of photographs
• Continued training opportunities for all staff
• Community Centre and Art Gallery Training Centre in weaving, knitting, lace making, crochet.

The third goal is heritage preservation/transformation and this will be done by preserving our inclusive cultural heritage by hosting exhibitions and heritage items and also the dissemination of information. The objective for this goal is collecting all information and objects that relate to the War Museum in order to preserve and represent inclusivity for future generations. The highlights of the collections the War Museum has currently are:

• The Museum has 14 088 number of items verified over the past year
• 1386 items acquired over the past 3 years
• All acquisition records for the full collection has been transferred to an electronic database system.

This year the Museum plans to have the implementation of GRAP 103 and funding of R1 million will be provided by the DAC so that the Museum can hire additional staff for the collections management team and also hire a service provider to determine which items will be valuable. Also it will receive funding from the NLC so that it can purchase scanners that will digitise its collection as well as conservation materials. The transformation objective is to ensure the Museum can have new or updated exhibitions to promote social cohesion. The highlights for transformation include:

• Sol Plaatjie Hall
• Garden of Remembrance
• Agterryer Statue
• DVD production like Scars of Our Violent Past
• Exhibitions which are new such as the Heritage Quilt and the Burgher Memorial Wall

The Museum plans this year to have a casted bronze plate with braille information on the Museum ground which the NLC will be funding. It also wants to create an exhibition on the connection between the South African War and the Struggle, a Youth Day exhibition for career opportunities for youth in the heritage sector and also Chronology of the War.

The fourth and last goal is Governance, strengthening governance & accountability by investing in capacity and capability. The objective of this is to have 100% audit issues addressed on deadlines and review of the Council Charter, Audit Committee Charter. In the last 3 financial years, the entity has received clean audit reports and the staff structure has declined from 3 staff to 25 people. Highlights of the Museum are having the Sol Plaatjie Hall and additional storage space for collections, restaurants, new conference room and parking area.

Ms Christelle Swanepoel, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the War Museum, stated that the financial performance of the Museum is solely based on the funding of the DAC. Other external funders are the NLC which in 2015/16 R2 million was allocated to the Museum and R907 000 comes from other donors. The entity is struggling with funding as liabilities are more than assets.

Mr Pretorius raised the challenges the entity is facing stating that the DAC should consider the Museum to be part of the legacy Museums and not just part of a cluster of museums in order for the Museum not to be regarded as an exclusive Afrikaner Museum. Another challenge is that the South African War history is not properly represented in the inclusion of the school curriculums giving the impression that the Museum is not accessible to all the communities, therefore the DAC and the Department of Basic Education should include this in school curriculums. The staffing compliment is low and has been reduced from 31 to 25 and there is not enough funding for new staff members. The financial challenge has also cost the Museum to achieve its objective from receiving funding from the DAC and historically the War Museum receives less than its sister entities. For the 2016/17 year the DAC allocated R9 million to the War Museum but for the Nelson Mandela Museum R21 million was given, and R65 million for the Freedom Park Museum, Mr Pretorius stated that was more than double of what the War Museum receives form the DAC and the Nelson Mandela Museum has the same amount of staff as the War Museum but receive much less.

Measures to address these financial issues is to request for a baseline allocation increase from the DAC of R4 8 million. R1 million would be allocated to core functions, R3,4 million to staff which would increase 11 positions in the Museum in areas that involve educational officers; collections assistant; Public Relations Officer; 2 security guards and a compliance officer. The rest of the R408 000 will be allocated to maintenance and the War Museum will give a detailed reported to the DAC of how the fees will be used. Funding of Capital works project for community centre for training and development of arts sector/art gallery, the War Museum has even submitted a business case to the DAC for this.

The Chairperson commended the report and stated that the Committee has noted the fact that some entities were getting unqualified reports and others qualified with the implementation of GRAP 103. The Committee was in talks with National Treasury to get this sorted because if the entities keep getting a negative review from the Auditor General it will not be able to get funding and would have to get funding from somewhere else.

Discussion

The Chairperson questioned achievements as the presentation stated the entity could not have a 100% achievement due to school holidays. School holidays were always there and when the entity plans it should have that in mind.

Mr Makondo said he was bothered about the War Museums staff allocation or recruitment as in the senior positions there was no black people representation and no balance in terms of equity. There were 13 black people in staff and all of them are in positions of cleaners and domestic work, not even one is in the lowest level of management and he wanted to know what their recruitment plan said about this as he did not understand. He also wanted to know how it reduced its staffing component from 31 to 25 staff members and top management constitutes of one person and in his understanding the CFO and Director would be considered in the top management.

Mr J Mahlangu (ANC) pointed that the DAC does not focus on other wars that also took place around the country. The War Museum is only an aspect of the wars that happened within the country and he wanted to know why the DAC does not focus on Wars that happened in other provinces like KwaZulu-Natal or the Eastern Cape as the Xhosa people and Zulu have wars themselves the public need to be aware about. When the Committee visited the War Museum there were only 2 language in the brochures, English and Afrikaans, the DAC must include a Nguni language as majority of the people are black and when their language is not catered for it becomes a problem. He was concerned about the equity issue and wanted to know what the DAC is doing to address this matter as there are a number of black females who are over qualified in various positions, he requested the next time the DAC comes to the Committee it must come with a list of the council members so it can see how to address this matter.

The Chairperson specified that the War Museum should state what it would be allocating the R11 million for. A breakdown of what is going to happen in each quarter will be crucial as most of the entity’s work gets done in the fourth quarter, leaving a question as to what happens in the other three quarters because the job of the Committee is to oversee the work that will be done by the entities. She also wanted to know who the people sponsoring the Museum other than the NLC were so that the Committee can know who is funding the War Museum.

Mr Pretorius said he would not let the Human Resource issue affect his work and that the decrease in personnel took place in the last 15 to 20 years and recruitment is taken from the university, which is how the Museum recruits. He urged the Committee to enhance the allocation so that the Museum can get the eleven posts it needs to further their work and mandate. The posts include educational officers; collections assistant; Public Relations Officer; 2 security guards; risk/compliance officer and drivers for the 2 vehicles. He promised that in terms of equity once these posts are provided it will change and enhance better equity. There are internal promotions as a lady who was a cleaner was promoted to a cashier.
In terms of the language the entity provided a language policy which was adopted by the DAC and Parliament but he does agree that a Nguni language should be included, preferably Sesotho which is the most spoken language in Free State. It will give the details regarding the R11 million and what the Museum proposes to do with it.

Ms Swanepoel stated that in terms of the R11 million that the War Museum requests for GRAP 103 it will be used for 3 years. R3,5 million will be for additional staff, equipment which is needed will be R230 000, R150 000 will be computer and database upgrading and maintenance, the bulk of the allocation R6,5 million will be used for appraisal.

The Chairperson asked whether the R11 million was a proposal.

Dr Van der Merwe stated that in terms of the equity and management positioning the Museum took its reference from the Labour Court and that is why it structured its management in that accordance.

Ms Sethibelo agreed with Members that a Nguni language should be present as per the Constitution, normally it would depend on which area the entity was situated and the most popular language in the community but the DAC will address this in future.  Around the issue about the Councils and timeframe the DAC is proactive and has even started with the Museum allowing them to register for positions within November and an advertisement will also be placed. In terms of extension it will depend if the Minister would extend the term or not.

The Chairperson asked about the issue of other donors of the War Museum.

Ms Swanepoel said she did not have the donors list but the Museum receives various funding from local businesses, National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and other family businesses. It is quite an extensive list but the biggest funder is NSFAS and then all the local businesses.

Mr Pretorius added that these donors do not only donate in money but with resources and help where is needed.

The Chairperson requested that a list of these donors must be given and what form of donation each provide to the War Museum.

Mr G Grootboom (DA) said the financial side of the Museum does make sense as the reason why their staff went from 31 to 25 is because the of these financial constraints. Looking at other Museums who have the same number of staff but have a bigger budget het wanted to know what is the purpose for this. With regard to equity he stated that a debate was needed to see how you achieve equity as entities need to grow into equity and the War Museum with 25 staff it cannot fire people but with the 11 posts it requires equity can be established in the growth of numbers in the War Museum.

The Chairperson stated that the issue about funding and the allocation is something that the Committee has been discussing. The DAC should have a financial model as to why a certain amount of money is allocated to a certain entity so that there cannot be confusion in the allocation of the budgets between the entities. The DAC should also integrate with other Departments in terms of funding because it could be the training and job creation being created correlates to certain departments and therefore the DAC should not work in isolation with regards to the funding.

Ms Sethibelo stated that the DAC looks at the mandate and scope of the entity and the budget is allocated in terms of the workload. It is not realistic that budget is given through favouritism but depending on the scope a certain entity has to provide and influence. All departments have taken financial cuts but the DAC has never cut the entity’s budget allocation as it is aware that additional funding is needed. She is aware and would focus on identifying other wars within the country that are not known to the public domain.

The Chairperson stated that the Committee needs to provide the DAC with a roadmap as to see what issues it has addressed and how it will resolve them because some issues keep arising in every meeting. She commended the South African War Museum on their good work and told them to keep it up.

Overview by the Department on the KwaZulu-Natal Museum Annual Performance Plan

Ms Sethibelo stated that the KwaZulu-Natal Museum has three main obligations through programmes such as Administration, Business Development and Public Management. The Museum was established in terms of the Cultural Institutions Act, 1998 (Act No.118 of 1998) and receives funding from the DAC to finance its operations and issues of infrastructure. The key priorities it plans to achieve this year through the Minister’s recommendation is celebrating Africa month in partnership with Msunduzi Museum, to obtain an unqualified audit report, upgrading of the Mammal Hall and Bird galleries, to train 16 interns/students and supervise them.

There are a number of strategic goals the KwaZulu-Natal Museum has:

• To provide and improve tools of trade to improve working conditions, this will be done by allocating R250 000 on new assets/equipment.
• Develop and annual training for staff development and the funds for this have been budgeted for R173 306
• To ensure compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 4 health and safety committee meetings will be held.
• To preserve the Museum collections that reflects the nations diversity and it will organise two events or trips to collect relevant items.
• To account for the heritage assets in the care of the Museum.
• Develop the rise of the Zulu Kingdom
• Develop travelling exhibitions
• Host temporary exhibitions developed by the members of the public.

The Museum has a total staff of 58 with 29 males and females, equity is exercised with representation of white, black, Indians in senior or top management positions.

The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Museum performance overview as of the 3rd quarter of 2016/17 year was 91% achieved. It had 35 targets for this quarter but managed to cover 32 and 3 were not achieved, the reason for this is that the Museum has seen a decline in the number of family visitors. The last three financial years the performance overview has not been great but has improved from year one to year three. The budget allocation over the 3 years also increased where in 2013/14 it received R18 million and 2015/16 year it received R33 million. Throughout the 3rd quarter of 2016/17 there were four council meetings with full attendance at all the meetings. The challenges the Museum faced in the past financial years is lack of funds to implement staff assessments and the DAC intervened by granting the entity an increment on the operational allocation.

KwaZulu-Natal Museum on its Annual Performance Plan and Strategic Plan

Ms N Mazibuko, Chairperson of Council: KZN Museum started by introduced all the representatives of the KZN Museum. The Council owns the presentation and stated that inputs were also made by the Council.

Mr Luthando Maphasa, Director: KZN Museum stated that the strategic objectives in order to maintain its objectives are:

• To undertake original research that will lead to the promotion of understanding and conservation of natural and cultural heritage.
• Improve its collections to provide research for future generations.
• Develop educational programmes that are aligned to the National Curriculum Statement (NCS).
• Develop exhibitions and public programmes that showcase the Museum’s programmes
• Develop programmes that promote investing in cultural & natural heritage to open job opportunities for the youth.
• Develop mentorship and training opportunities that will accelerate skills development.

Programme 1: Administration: The Museum’s objectives are to ensure maintenance of the Museum building and have technical support for all departments within the Museum. The Museum also wants to provide a professional library service in order for the public and the research community to access information. Making the public aware of the diversity the KZN Museum has through publicity and events is also key as it will allow institutional support from the DAC so the Museum can broaden its core functions.

Programme 2: Business Development: The KZN Museum has two departments which are the Natural Sciences and Human Sciences departments. The key objectives for this programme is to properly manage and maintain the natural and cultural heritage collection to serve as centres for promotion of research and development. Also, so it could be the centre for research excellence by publishing research output in accredited scientific journals.

Programme 3: Public Engagement:  plans to produce state of the art exhibitions that showcase the Museum’s programmes and national imperatives. Educational programmes, skills development and training is crucial for public engagement and letting them to be aware of the KZN Museum and the heritage sector as a whole. This will strengthen partnerships not only locally nut internationally so that the Museum can reach its objectives.

As a public entity, the KZN Museum is entitled to drive Delivery Agreements as assigned to the DAC and outcome 14 of the delivery agreement which is part of the governments Medium Term Strategic Framework 2017-19 outcomes, and addresses nation building and social cohesion. In terms of the outputs for outcome 14 on nation building, it has to do with promoting awareness across the country about identity, right and responsibility and promoting understanding of indigenous cultures. Social cohesion develops programmes that promote democratic social capital through doing events that are respectful and involve all South Africans. The KZN Museum has taken the initiative to adhere to outcome 14 and make sure it adheres to the delivery agreements. Even though it is the DAC responsibility to ensure that outcome 14 is implemented the Museum tends to think that the strategic goals the Museum has are linked with those of the DAC. The Museum plans to strengthen international links to enhance research development, promote national identity, integrate with other departments to promote learning and development about the industry and lastly to build relationships with other entities within the sector for consultation of brand awareness and so forth. These goals are the same goals the DAC has and the KZN has structured its goals in accordance with the Departments so it can have 100% performance achievements.

Within the Museum the Natural Sciences department has collections with of global importance. Some of the collections include frogs, spiders, flies, millipedes, molluscs, and earthworms are all part of Africa’s largest collection respectively meaning the Museum collections are of most importance. The research the Natural Sciences department is working to include Arthropoda & Mollusca which have contributed significantly to scientific leadership in South Africa and has an extensive network of national and international partnerships. The Human Sciences department also have collected nationally and globally important collections through archaeology with 6 000 sites recorded. San Rock Art archive more than 30 000 recorded images from 700 sites, Amandla collection with 1 000 items from the struggle against Apartheid. The Human Science research includes an archaeology division which is one of the largest in South Africa and the research consists of San Rock Art, African Farmers AD 400 to 1800 and archaeology of ancient humans 70 000 years ago.

Programme 1: Administration: The Museum has identified strategic risks to be shortage of staff, budget to ensure proper governance and slow implementation of Capital Works project. The KZN Museum will request funds from the DAC and National Treasury to appoint two administration staff, address compliance issues and regular liaison with the DAC infrastructure office and the Department of Public Works.

Programme 2: Business Development: The Museum has identified lack of funding affects research and conservation, inability to retain and attract staff, inability to improve collections. The conditions for some collections are also not ideal especially wet collections and security could be compromised. The entity plans to collaborate with the National Research Fund (NRF) to improve research funding and incentives to retain current staff have been developed. With regards to wet collections a new Museum would address the issue with new technology to improve security.

Programme 3: Public Engagement:  The Museum has no funds to develop community relevant exhibitions, shortage of skills and lack of funds for learners to attend after-school programmes. The entity plans to liaise with the DAC to address these problems and it will create mentorship programmes for graduates to improve the skills that are short in the Museum.

The 2017/18 Annual Performance Plan key projects include:

• Maintain 17 schools participating in the Outreach Programme
• Host 2 holiday programmes
• Conduct research, plan and produce the Rise of the Zulu Exhibition
• 3 collaborative projects undertaken, KZN Museum, Msunduzi, Macrorie & Project Gateway. Collaboration on Heritage March, OR Tambo Display & Africa Day.
• Spend R100 000 on staff training and development.

The challenges the KZN Museum faces in the future are increased income issues to attend to core responsibilities, lack of suitable space and facilities for collections management therefore that is why the Museum is requesting for additional income for a new Museum to better preserve its collection unit. It also lacks external funding to complete specific projects and the more collections it obtains the more skills and staff it will need and funding for that might be a problem. As the KZN Museum is a public entity it therefore strives to implement and achieve the targets the National Development Plan of 2030 foresees for the country an inclusive growth by public awareness of the Museum as a national hub for scientific information is a challenge for the Museum. The Museum also has difficulty in providing social inclusion of the communities to make a sense of believing that the museum is part of the Museum.

Discussion

The Chairperson noticed on the overview and entity presentations that on the outputs for 2017/18 money is spent, she wanted clarity of this. She stressed that the DAC and KZN Museum should quality check the documents as it is a public document that everyone will be able to access as some aspects are not clearly descripted. She also mentioned that the KZN Museum should properly invite the Committee to their site within time so the Members can prepare for the oversight visit because it cannot request for a visit a week in advance.

Ms V Mogotsi (ANC) asked the DAC in terms of the budget allocation why the financial projections for the year 2017/18 are 8% higher for the KZN Museum whereas the previous entity the Boer Museum had only 4% increase. She asked for clarity on how the allocation of the DAC is distributed or is it the entity who has the most projects would get allocated more money.

Mr Mahlangu stated that the KZN Museums presentation was very detailed and that it should share with other entities on how to successfully achieve objectives and conserve the Museums. He liked the fact that the Museums were looking for partnerships outside the province and country.

Mr Grootboom said that he did not understand when the DAC said it must plan the rise of the Zulu Kingdom and felt like that needed to be corrected.

Mr Mulder stated that he does not like GRAP 103 and wondered if the DAC can arrange something with the Office of the Auditor General (AG) or must it wait another year of an unqualified report until GRAP is sorted.

Ms Sethibelo stated that funding will be a resource when you do planning but the publications would be an output and the DAC will have to change it. The KZN Museum requested for additional funding due to the fact that the DAC has now let the entities deal with municipal charges whereas previously the Department used to deal with it and also it was losing skills to the universities meaning it had nor researchers for the labs. She also stated the entity was requesting funds for GRAP 103 and that the allocation increase was to all entities not just the KZN museum.

The Chairperson stated since these entities are local and the municipalities also benefit from the tourism that happens in the area, is there no negotiation between the municipality and the entities in order to reduce the rate. Is there a discussion when the entity or DAC sits with its CFO forum that it should negotiate with the municipalities on the rates and charges?

Ms Sethibelo stated the DAC has not spoken with municipalities about reducing the municipal charges however the municipalities have come to them for funds to improve their structures but it is something the DAC will look into in future.               

Mr Ntuthuko Khuzwayo, KZN Museum Council Member mentioned that the Museum has a very good relationship with their municipality. He also stressed that the KZN Museum wants to expand but is confined to provincial borders and cannot locate to Mpumalanga and some of the collections it contains comes through the NRF so location is needed to accumulate and expand their collection. He argued that the rise of the Zulu kingdom is based on the fact that people who grew up in the land were not recognised and therefore there is a need for  institutions to do thorough research and create new books to educate people of where their roots are from as a source of heritage.

 In terms of the budget allocation the Museum is very delicate as the different species it keeps need to be treated in different ways and making example with the aircon he stated that flies in the Museum would need different kind of heating meaning that more funding is needed to ensure this is maintained. Better yet a new location for the Museum would be preferable as it is based in the central business district and most common tourists go through countryside all the way to Johannesburg and the entity loses tourists in that regard as people who love nature would not be close to the city. The Museum also has a show on SABC 3 on television called Shoreline that showcases the heritage of the country and he would like the Committee to look into this documentary as to see the work the entity is doing and how it is creating awareness about heritage in the culture. The new location would also contribute to a better space for the living of the collections especially wet collections that need specific requirements for maintenance.

Mr Maphasa stated that in terms of the GRAP 103 it is not something the entity is enjoying and can be challenging to them. And does not benefit the collection the entity keeps collecting. The exhibitions of the rise of the Zulu kingdom are broader in the terms of it speaks about the Nguni speaking people and it involves all other cultures that were involved when Nguni languages were formed.

The Chairperson asked what the entity is going to do in the financial year 2017/18 as there were no indications in the presentation of this.

Mr Sphamandla Dlamini, KZN Museum Financial Manager, stated that it will do a proper quality check of the document the next time as he was not sure what happened when the document was drafted.

The Chairperson stated that the entity needs to rectify the matter and then re-table it because the Committee needs to pass a budget based on the document provided. She commended that the DAC and the KZN Museum were an example of how the entity is working together with the Department.

The Deputy Chair of the KZN Museum Council thanked the Committee and for the invitation to present.

Overview by the Department on the Market Theatre Annual Performance and Strategic Plan

Ms Sethibelo stated that the Market Theatre Foundation (MTF) budget allocation has increased from year 2013/14 to 2015/16 from 62 million to 95 million. The entities previous performance overview for the last three financial years is 75%,80% and 68% meaning that it is decreasing, and for the quarter 2016/17 ended 31 December 2016 the performance overview was 66%. All the audit outcomes in the past 4 years have been unqualified with findings which are inadequate compliance with legislation pertaining to Irregular Expenditure and lack of accurate/complete performance reports which are supported by verification sources. The MTF has a total of 8 council members a total of roughly 5 council meetings and the attendance for this is 93%.

The MTF & DAC goals are similar as the DAC wants to lead social cohesion programmes and the MTF want to identify, develop, host and produce performing arts productions to advance the cultural wellbeing of South Africans. It plans to do this by hosting 20 productions which will be attended by approximately 75 000 people, expand visitors to exhibitions and have produced one publication. Another DAC objective is to build human resource capacity which the MTF states is to identify, develop individuals as to increase the number of professionals in the country. This will be implemented by seeking for a 100 people within the performing arts landscape to develop /empower them and 20 students will be enrolled for drama courses. Other initiatives are to register individuals into Advanced Programmes in Photography, photojournalism and documentary photography programmes and already 65% have successfully completed various training programmes for this meaning that the initiative is efficient.

The challenges the MTF experience operationally is that the Council and the executive management of the Windybrow Theatre differ on how the affairs of the entity should be handled. The DAC tried to resolve the matter but to no success therefore the Council for Windybrow Theatre was dissolved and the Council of the MTF were put into authority. An amalgamation was approved by the Minster for the Windybrow Theatre to be amalgamated to TF to form a new organsiation and the implications for this is council, Audit Committee, Management, staff members, budget allocation, strategic and Annual Performance plans should all be consolidated into one.

Market Theatre on their Annual Performance and Strategic Plan

Mr Kwanele Gumbi Chairman of the MTF started by introducing the entities personnel and stated that it just commissioned a building and that the amalgamation of the Windybrow Theatre has been successful because their new quarters now look wonderful.

Mr Ismail Mahomed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTF stated that there are 4 strategic outcomes which are Institutional Management to provide leadership support services by professional communication and internal controls. Public Engagement to promote Arts & Culture for contribution to nation building and providing employment for South Africans. Creating Employment opportunities through training platform for arts management, artists and technicians to develop skills. Lastly Business Development to promote and sustain the growth of stakeholders’ confidence in the MTF within South Africa.

Ms Christine McDonald, CFO, MTF stated that the main portion of the funding comes from the DAC but that mainly covers the operational cost and for every production, additional funding is needed for that. MTF is heavily reliant on the National Lottery although it receives a number of funding from other organisations which include the Ford Foundation, DG Murry Trust and Getty Images to name a few. The National Lottery has provided the entity with 48 million from the period 2004 – 2016 and that is why it is their biggest donor outside the DAC. The budget allocation has increased from 2016 due to the amalgamated Windybrow Theatre that means more funding is required for this merger. Funding seems to be the no1 risk for the MTF in order for it to complete all its projects within time.

Mr Mahomed stated as from 1 April 2014 the Windybrow Theatre was brought by the DAC under the administration of the MTF. All staff of the Windybrow theatre have been assimilated to the MTF staff and  are employed as per the policies of the MTF. The Windybrow Theatre House was refurbished on July 2016 and currently is operational and the Committee needs to come and see it now that is complete. At the moment, the MTF is busy on recruitment a head for the Windybrow Arts centre, who will report directly to the CEO of MTF.

Mr Gumbi mentioned that in terms of the cases against the Council of Windybrow Theatre that the best lawyers have been put on the case to try and get that resolved.

Discussion

The Chairperson commended the entity on their presentation, labelling it a breath of fresh air and wanted to know what their succession plan is as the Committee wanted to know for the next 5 years what the future holds. Another issue that the MTF should focus on is to ensure that the community benefits from the MTF.

Ms Mogotsi had a question regarding the photographic programme and wondered if the entity is partnering with any educational department entities and whether there was an accreditation for the training once the student complete. Also, wanted to know if individuals from poverty stricken communities are benefiting from this and how it is touching people’s lives.

Mr Mahlangu thanked and commended the entity on their good work.

Mr Makondo said the Committee has not been going to see the work of the entities that are doing well and it focused on the bad entities. He wanted to know about the MTF succession process and how it plans on moving forward. In terms of the legal fees he wanted to know if there were a formal commitment by the DAC in case the entity did not win the case.

The Chairperson wanted clarity as to why the entity is targeting 90% in recruitment and not the full 100%, and also wanted specific and in depth information on how many programmes the entity plans to achieve in order for the Committee to do an oversight on this.

Mr Mahomed stated that the MTF does not offer jobs it offers careers so it wants to build careers and not jobs therefore when it recruits that particular individual must be part of their 5-year plan. In terms of new audiences there are two audience strategists who play a role in ensuring people don’t just come in and out but return. This will be done by going to schools, workshops getting completed to ensure that audiences are aware of the theatre and its work. There are productions that go outside the Market Theatre foundation to certain communities and if successful taken back to the MTF for another hosting.

The Chairperson asked if the entity had an idea of the artist in school programme of the DAC.

Mr Mahomed replied yes, the entity has taken an overview and survey of the departmental projects and checked how the entity can tap into that. On the workshops and educational programmes we are linked with Wits University and there is accreditation for this once it is completed. In each production, there is a mentee that is involved in the productions and once the mentee has assisted in two productions it can work on having their own one.

Ms McDonald stated that the vacancy rate is due to inflation and the entity was not provided an inflation rate meaning that people leave for better salaries but with that said there is still a number of satisfied individuals who are happy with the service. Some of the positions the MTF requires are not easy to fill as its not regularly in demand for e.g. Stage Manager, Designer and etc. due to this there are instances where a contractual agreement is made for a vacancy for 6 months or a year and in the MTF books that vacancy still comes as not being filled.

Mr Gumbi stated that in future the presentation length will be longer and more detailed as usually the presentation time is 15 minutes but it will be addressed in the following presentation by the MTF. The succession plan is already in process in the entity as for the CEO and CFO there is already a plan for them when they will retire in 2022 – 2023. The entity is also looking into new plays that are current and the latest issue that are happening in the country now. He mentioned that 4 black female Chartered Accountants have been employed and they are all under 30, meaning that the growth and succession is already in place.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting.

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