Robben Island Museum 2023/24 Annual Performance Plan; with Ministry

Meeting report

Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture (DSAC) overview of Robben Island Museum
DSAC Acting Director General, Dr Cynthia Khumalo, gave a financial overview of Robben Island Museum (RIM), and covered RIM’s new mandate. In the mandate, RIM is responsible for managing, maintaining, developing, and marketing Robben Island as a National Heritage and World Heritage. The Museum was established by the Department of Arts and Culture in 1997 and is governed by a Council appointed by the Minister. In the presentation, Dr Khumalo covered RIM's non-financial performance, financial allocation, audit outcomes, governance matters, the composition of the council, oversight activities, governance engagements, the composition of executive management, and the composition of staff. Please see the PowerPoint presentation for figures and tables.

Robben Island Museum (RIM) 2023/24 Annual Performance Plan
Ms Tshimangadzo Nemaheni, RIM Chief Heritage Officer, focused on RIM’s improved vision and mission under the new leadership and the plans supporting the 2023/24 APP, key strategic risks, and existing and potential partners..

RIM’s alignment with government plans includes prioritising the education mandate, and using the educational material derived from the story of Robben Island as a reference for teaching and learning in schools, thus contributing to Social Science and Life Orientation. RIM has implemented an internship program to increase skills development and access to education for South African youth. The turnaround
strategic plan has five strategic goals:
● strengthen governance
● conserve and maintain the natural and cultural heritage of robben island
● disseminate information about robben island to a broader audience
● develop and promote responsible tourism operations
● foster stakeholder relations and partnerships.

RIM’s Heritage Division constitutes the core business of the island which has the Heritage and Research Department and the Public Heritage Education Department. They both provide for the conservation, preservation, presentation and promotion of the Museum, National Heritage Site and World Heritage Site.

RIM’s Infrastructure and Facilities Management Division aims to conserve, protect, restore, upgrade, and maintain the Island’s facilities to serve the Museum’s diverse business requirements; health and safety measures at Robben Island Museum and transport as the custodian of all of RIM's vehicular fleet.

RIM’s Visitors Operation includes ensuring the Visitor Experience and Operations run effectively

Administration Programme covers RIM’s support departments and focuses on the following strategic goals:
1. To strengthen the governance of RIM to ensure effective management. This is achieved through:
- Implementation of internal controls and processes
- Strict financial management to work towards sustainability.
- Filtering risk management through all processes
- Effective communication internally and externally
- Implementation of ICT strategy to digitise manual processes.

2. To foster stakeholder relations and partnerships
- Building partnerships to assist with media relations, risk management, and strategy development.

RIM’s Budget for 2022/23 was undertaken with consideration of the prevailing Covid-induced travel restrictions on domestic and international tourists and the retrenchment process, which was eventually retracted to save jobs as easing of the travel restrictions had begun. RIM recorded a surplus for 2022/23 due to the growth in tour sales. This is a good feat in the successful implementation of the stabilisation plan after the Covid challenges. The stabilisation plan included unchanged ticket prices, a focused marketing strategy towards attracting domestic visitors during the Omnicron Covid wave, and the launch of walking tours.

It noted successful installation of the servers at Mayibuye Centre at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to enable digitisation of archives onto the ATOM system following the incident of the server attack at UWC.

RIM has a high vacancy rate of 38% and 17 critical positions are currently being finalized to reduce this high vacancy rate.

There was an improvement in the outsourced hiring of boats from R37.7 million in 2019/20 to R3.7 million in 2022/23.

 As the end of 2022/23, RIM reported a positive accumulated cash balance of R165.3 million compared to R124 million year-on-year. Once reduced by grant liabilities and trade and other liabilities, the cash available for operations is R66.4 million. This is a significant improvement compared to 2021/22. The increase in the forward book is positive as advanced income received for future tours is R3.8 million compared to R2.2 million the previous year.

Discussion
Mr T Mhlongo (DA) asked what the plans were for the R152 million set aside for maintenance. He asked for a breakdown of the R152 million and how it was going to be spent so that the progress of the maintenance can be monitored. The presentation covers money use within the museum, but his concern is the status of the water plant. The biggest challenge was water and although the status states ‘completed’, the Committee wants to know this has been solved and requested the Minister account for the completed water plant. On electricity status, he asked if all the generators are working; how much diesel is used per month and how is the cost of diesel reduced per annum.

Mr Mhlongo questioned the number of council meetings, noting attendance is 86% per council meeting. He was concerned about the turnaround strategies that frequently change with every new leader that comes in. He suggested RIM implement a term strategy and therefore every new leader carries on with the current term strategy. He questioned what happened to the R21.5 million set aside to prevent staff cut-offs. Was it used or kept as he noted the recent job opportunities advertised which suggests that the money was not used? He wanted RIM to advise them of the current human resources.

Mr B Madlingozi (EFF) asked about the dilapidated buildings and if they were fully repaired. How bad was the disrepair and how much did it cost to fix the damage? He questioned the steps RIM has taken to influence educational curriculum suggestions as mentioned. He asked what plans RIM had in place to nurture a sense of national pride and dedication to the ideals of decolonisation. He requested reasons for the unaudited financial statements presented when there have been no auditing services to examine their validity. He asked for the cost of Mr Boyes ‘big’ tombstone.

Mr M Zondi (ANC) asked how the APP and the Auditor General qualified audit findings would ensure proper expenditure. What were the audit findings and what was the timeline to deal with these findings? He showed appreciation to the Department for monitoring and managing the turnaround strategy. He recalled a heated meeting between the Committee, the entity, and the Sarah Baartman Project, and he quoted Dr Cynthia Khumalo's words: "We are closely monitoring the entity in the implementation of the strategic turnaround”. He recalled that the entity was on the verge of collapsing. At one point, they all thought that a lot of jobs were going to be lost but the Department stood firm and said, ‘That is not going to happen’. With the turnaround strategy, they want to see a fully operational entity that will continue to be a South African attraction as a National Heritage site. Ticket sales should continue to increase to where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. The infrastructure projects must be implemented without hassles. The Committee would be glad if relations between the RIM Council and the Ex-Political Prisoners’ Association (EPPA) improve with no “extreme” reports. The turnaround strategy should guarantee the stability of RIM because that is how it can be fully operational – when it is self-sustainable.

Ms R Adams (ANC) stated that during 2019/20 RIM experienced irregular expenditure as the correct procedure was not followed for the purchase of a boat. In the previous year consequence management had not taken place against the officials responsible for the irregular expenditure, which resulted in a non-compliance paragraph in the audit report. RIM should undertake disciplinary steps against those officials. She referred to slide 8 on Contractual Challenges of a 20 April 2023 oversight presentation and asked if the sub-contractor had been fired from the site and a new one appointed. The revised completion date of 30 November 2022 has been changed to 23 September. What is the status quo currently? In the same slide, the Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance indicated no contractor had been appointed, what is the status quo currently?

Ms Adams referred to slide 79 and asked for the monetary value of the 8 542 concession and complimentary tickets. On repairs and maintenance, it is great that it started in 2021 and finished in May 2022 but who benefited from the project? Was the contractor from outside the island or an island resident? The APP target was 150 interviews of ex-political prisoners or their families conducted in a year. Is the project targeted at specific provinces or were they still going to conduct interviews in Limpopo, North West and Namibia?

Ms D Sibiya (ANC) asked for clarity on the ex-political prisoner interviews and the plans to visit the provinces that had not been visited. She asked about current relations between management and the Ex-Political Prisoners Association.

Mr D Joseph (DA) followed up on the boat procurement and wanted a report about the dispute between the Auditor General and RIM, and if this matter was still open or closed. He asked why there was a regress in the audit outcome findings. He asked for clarity about the RIM Council's expertise and referred to the Council’s responsibilities as he wanted to know which council member was responsible for maintenance, infrastructure, and marketing.

The presentation noted composition of staff is 293 and he asked what the staff size before COVID-19 was. It speaks about good relations with the labour unions. He asked if there were outstanding labour-related issues about what happened during COVID when the management wanted to go to CCMA. He asked for an update on the process to fill the Acting CFO vacancy.

Mr Joseph commended the RIM mission statement as the strongest democratic statement in explaining victory of the human spirit over adversity and injustice, and he suggested that the mission be used in the broader government department given the history of South Africa. He was concerned about the senior vacancies advertised which appeared to be a big turnover. However, he acknowledged that they are busy with the process. The Minister indicated that the Deputy Minister visited the island, but how was the R152m going to be spent on infrastructure?

Mr Joseph suggested that there could be TV screens or information points at the V&A Waterfront where people could have access to information about the island as a marketing strategy. He asked if indigenous royal houses were part of the partnership, who was identified to be part of these partnerships, and if was there a specific plan for this. He referred to its goal for information about RIM to be shared with the broader public. He acknowledged the switch in RIM visitors from a national and regional perspective, which was very important.

He asked for an update on what improvement has been made to the archive facilities and the joint tasks that were established, and whether there were any reports. He welcomed all the infrastructure proposals and asked if RIM would consider battery-operated vehicles or machinery to help protect the environment. He asked who the ferries belong to after procurement, as he noted the improvement and efficiency in the hiring boats. He asked for the reason for the expenditure change in the hiring of ferries from R37.7 million down to R3.7 million.

He drew attention to a media report about a party that was going to be held on the island and asked if it was within RIM’s mandate. He asked about the memorial lectures and if the resistance movement would also get an opportunity. Additionally, he thanked RIM for extending public heritage education to the youth and the 2 000 learners and teachers from all provinces that will benefit from that.

Mr Joseph questioned the impact of the attack at UWC and its cost. He spoke about the new position created to help the Office of the CEO with legal governance, organisational design and transformation. He asked who was doing this work before. He noted that RIM management is using an outside company for secretarial services. He asked the reason for this, the cost and if it is a permanent arrangement. Why can it be brought back to an internal administration? He asked what the 2022/23 surplus was going to be used for as well as the advance booking payments for tickets.

Mr Joseph stated that DPWI is failing and requested that it apologise to RIM, the Committee, and the country. He supported Mr Mhlongo who said that the Committee cannot support that whenever there is new management the previous proposals that are not carried through. In hopes that this time the turnaround will be carried through, he stated that he cannot wait for the 30th anniversary of the Robben Island project. Lastly, he requested that every single word Prof Saths Cooper said in his introduction be recorded in the minutes and a separate report be written.

Ms V Malomane (ANC) appreciated the increase in visitors and that there was no increase in ticket prices. She noted that there was no more deficit and that there is hope under the new leadership. She questioned the area that needed maintenance which prevented the public from accessing that area and if this was being prioritised. She appreciated the water and electricity intervention by DSAC. She requested that it involves the other departments connected to these RIM interventions.

Ms Malomane asked what the pressures were that resulted in the unfunded mandate. She requested that Committee is forwarded the 4th Integrated Conservation Management Plan that will be implemented in the second half of 2023, which is required by the World Heritage Convention Act. She wanted clarity about the sustainability of the operational-based location of Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V & A Waterfront which is under a 40-year lease agreement. She asked of the 128 jobs created, how many were permanent or temporary. On the filling of the 38% of job vacancies , she asked for the timeline for when the 17 critical positions were going to be filled.

Ms V Van Dyk (DA) expressed concern about Robben Island being one of the six DSAC entities that has regressed. She asked how these challenges will be addressed. In the past, there was a call for RIM to reduce ticket sales so that they are accessible to all South Africans. She asked for the current ticket price and how locals are accommodated. She questioned the impact ticket prices had on ticket sales. She asked about the progress on the relocation of RIM archives and collections project to UWC. Who are the stakeholders that the task team engages with and has RIM considered how they will make the archives accessible to the public?

The Chairperson noted that the Committee had undertaken an oversight visit to RIM and had seen the cooperation gap between the Department and DPWI. She expressed her concern that the R152 million budget for infrastructure maintenance was controlled by DPWI. She requested a report outlining the gaps between the two departments in looking after infrastructure. Public Works did not have a good financial background and that is why there were dilapidated buildings. She appreciated that when RIM wanted to raise ticket prices, the Committee strongly opposed this because the only people who would have access to the island would be international tourists and exclude locals. As a result, RIM has not increased ticket prices. She encouraged RIM to consider a reasonable price, should they increase ticket prices.

RIM response
Prof Saths Cooper, RIM Council Chairperson, stated that some of the difficulties faced by RIM are a consequence of democracy. When Apartheid ran Robben Island it was run as a national high-security key point; resources were made available directly from government via the Ministry of Justice and Prisons. The Deputy Commissioner of Prisons was dedicated to Robben Island, and he ended up being the personal secretary of the last Apartheid president and he became the first ambassador to Tokyo. The consequences of democracy in different areas through legislation have resulted in some of these problems with the DPWI, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) and Department of Tourism which covers its marketing.

Prof Cooper welcomed all the positive comments made throughout the discussion. On the complaint that each new leadership resulted in new strategies, the current Council is not intending to reinvent the strategies but they are reviewing the areas that need rethinking to ensure that RIM delivers on its primary and secondary mandates. Some of their challenges are that the Department of Public Works operates an unsustainable model that does not lead to job creation and local responsibility is taken away because they appoint the service providers. Several service providers are appointed and then subcontractors are appointed. The previous Minister was unhappy with that process and instructed that direct funding should be made available. The inability to deal with degradation at these sites is a result of the service providers being answerable to the national entity and the time this takes creates a huge problem.

On the unfilled vacancies, it would be irresponsible for the Council to advertise or fill positions without the budget to do so. He appreciated the Minister and Deputy Minister for their engagement with their counterparts in these key departments. The Deputy Minister for Sports, Arts, and Culture is facilitating cooperation with the deputies in DFFE, DPWI and Tourism.

RIM is looking at ensuring that there is a plan that goes beyond the current mandate but is general enough. They are approaching the Education Department about the stories from Robben Island that involved people being charged for political rather than criminal offences. The nurturing of a sense of national pride and the fight for decolonisation, as Mr Madlingozi raised, are part of RIM's goals.

The reason for the presentation of the unaudited financial statements is that RIM is currently under audit. He confirmed that RIM had a qualified audit in 2021/22 and for the last couple of years since 2019/20 due to the commissioning of the Krotoa ferry without applying the preference point system in the procurement process which resulted in irregular expenditure. They are currently in engagement with the Office of the Auditor General, including internal audit, to ensure avoiding the same mistakes. The RIM strategy is to provide funding for those time lags that emerged with DFFE and DPWI. The ticket price had remained the same. Boat trips to Robben Island from V&A Waterfront prices are R400 per adult and R210 per child for South Africans. For non-South African visitors the cost is R600 per adult, and R310 per child. However, RIM is still examining this to ensure that if they were to run without any funding from the fiscus, what the real cost would be. RIM’s turnaround strategy is to look at complete sustainability by reducing reliance on the fiscus, carefully managing income, and creating partnerships that do not end up privatising a national asset.

The disciplinary measure taken by RIM are of common cause that stopped a while ago, but they are continuing to look at consequence management as it affects anyone responsible for that audit finding by the Auditor General. The Sarah Baartman and David Stuurman are part of the entities that RIM is reaching out to. Any entity that represents history they will reach out to as they do not want to repeat what other dedicated institutions are already doing – but the partnerships going forward show full inclusivity. The Mayibuye archives and the cyber-attack will be spoken to by the CIO. RIM does have an MOU with UWC and the entire Mayibuye archive is national property and belongs to Robben Island. They are looking into how they will utilise some of the archives in creating exhibitions in the V&A Waterfront to make people know about their combined history. RIM is in the process of planning projects that will let people know that our history is one. This is through the agreement by the Department of Education to make this history part of the syllabus. The History syllabus will bring back the stories of pain and alienation, our history and our culture over the colonial period. This will include the stories of ex-political prisoners and their families. Their stories are being collected into programmes that will change the tour. He noted the three South African presidents that spent jail time on Robben Island while one had his father, Govan Mbeki, spend about 20 years on Robben Island, and various other persons who were imprisoned at Robben Island because of the colonial era. RIM is happy with the Ministry and its leadership for looking at intersectional engagement by looking at local memorialisation where there have been political fighters against colonialism and apartheid.

The new positions RIM has approved are to break the cycle of reliance on external providers. Robben Island has had several external providers which has been raised by the Department of Public Works. In the interest of job creation RIM is looking at filling posts that they can afford, and they have taken note of the recommendations made by Committee members during the discussion.

Ms Maphootla Makhoalibe, RIM CIO, replied about the R152 million for infrastructure. The initial budget was R111 million but was increased to R152 million. The R152 million is not an annual budget as it is allocated across a period of three years. Since DPWI is responsible for maintenance they are also responsible for the budget. The RIM proposal is for it to be given the power to directly manage this budget. The requested budget breakdown will be coming from DPWI as they are responsible for the budget.

Ms Makhoalibe explained that RIM spends about R600 000 on diesel fuel monthly for the generators which includes the Nelson Mandela Gateway departure point for the Island at the V&A Waterfront. On the complaint about changing strategies, RIM is guided by a five-year plan and an annual performance plan. Therefore, in anything they do they try to align their plans toward the Integrated Conservation Management Plan (ICMP) as well as the APP.

The R21 million made available by the Department to save jobs and she was pleased to confirm that due to that R21 million allocation, they were able to save jobs. In the past 12 months they managed to start new revenue-generating strategies that have contributed positively to ensure sustainability.

On the delay in the renovation of the dilapidated sites, as per their report on the Infrastructure Programme, they have successfully concluded Phase One which are the visitor sites that the Robben Island visitors engage with. There are a total of 479 buildings. Through the User Asset Management Plan, RIM plans on an annual basis the renovations as they are limited according to the specific allocations per year. On the cost of the late Mr Boyes’ tombstone, they can make the report available to the Committee.

The 2022/23 audit is currently underway. The regression in the audit findings for 2021/22 was because of irregular expenditure. With the cyber-attack she highlighted that RIM is responsible for the management of GRAP 103 which is the accounting standard for how to record heritage assets and their value, because of that they rely on the ATOM system that is based at UWC. The AG could not verify what was reported under the annual non-financial performance which was a contributing factor to the regression. In dealing with that, RIM has made R4 million available through its ICT department to minimise the risks that led to such regression.

The information about the monetary value of concessions and the complimentary tickets will be sent to the Committee.

On the outstanding Ex-Political Prisoners interviews, she confirmed that there are still outstanding interviews, and these included the Northern Cape, Limpopo, and Namibia. The reason for the delay with the interviews is that they are not using any service providers. They are using the EPPs and the reason is because it is easy for them to engage with each other and the families when interviewed can be comfortable and trust the EPPs.

The appointment of the acting CFO has been finalised and they are currently onboarding the successful candidate. This is also tied to the fast-tracked Recruitment Project that is currently underway to reduce the time to fill the vacant positions. The Recruitment Project is a key determining factor to deliver on their mandate by the end of the second quarter.

On the Committee’s suggestion that RIM should do exhibitions at the V&A Waterfront, the GT1 project is aimed at doing that. RIM is envisioning that the project will unfold in the current financial year, and it is expected to roll out in 2024/25. They are pleased with the engagements of the RIM facilities and infrastructure units that resulted in the signs to the NMG building in the V&A Waterfront.

RIM will look at the use of electric buses for the island tours through the fleet management strategy and as an investment strategy. The improvement in the cost from 37 million to 7 million, is because their target is to reduce their private charter boats until they have stabilised their current operation and that has resulted in positive outcomes. The silent disco party is in line with institutional policies that were shared. Anything RIM does is in line with the events and protocol policy requirements.

Ms Makhoalibe confirmed they are currently based at the Nelson Mandela Gateway which is a building in the V&A Waterfront and RIM is paying rent for that building. They are left with 17 years on the 40-year lease. They must look for a departure point that is strategically located. The 128 employment opportunities created were project-based. The employees employed under the different projects will be released when the project ends.

The requested report on the impact of the ticket prices that have not changed since 2015 will be submitted.

On the UWC-RIM partnership, there have been continuous engagements last year and this year’s engagement has been moved due to the availability of members that had to be part of a task team. As part of the turnaround strategy they will be exhibiting Mayibuye archival material and artefacts based on different themes and events. In the presentation they spoke about the six interns employed under the Mayibuye Project and some of the efforts include the digitisation of the archives to ensure alternative means of public access.

The RIM Council Chairperson added that the ticket sales target which Council gave management is to reach upward of 300 000 visitors in this financial year. In all their activities such as visitor experience and engagement with ex-political prisoners under the leadership of the Ex-Political Prisoners Association, there have been good relations. He hopes that they will improve as ex-political prisoners have asked for participation in activities. They understand that negative publicity associated with Robben Island impacts the whole country.

Department response
Dr Cynthia Khumalo commented about the DSAC entities that have regressed. The Department was continuing with what it had committed to doing, focusing particularly on the Auditor General’s findings. The Minister and Deputy Minister are convening a meeting scheduled for 2 June 2023 to meet with the chairpersons of all the entities where they will be discussing these matters and signing the shareholder compact. The Sarah Baartman project is not managed by RIM, however, they can provide documents should they be requested. On the inter-departmental interventions, this was one of the key decisions that came out of the meeting led by the Minister and Deputy Minister on 8 May 2023.

Mr Sibusiso Tsanyane, DSAC Deputy Director: Corporate Governance Unit, addressed the reporting of Council meeting attendance by percentage. RIM does this to track attendance numbers of council members across the number of council meetings. Through this, they monitor the attendance average per financial year and the figures for each member and the number of attendees available. It is reflected in the Annual Report with audited figures that show the number of meetings each member has attended.

Mr Tsanyane confirmed the expertise of the council members; they are experienced and have the qualifications. They did not refer to their responsibilities but these are considered when the Council committees are constituted.

Minister’s remarks
Minister Zizi Kodwa thanked Members for the comments throughout the discussion and their acknowledgment of the historic site. On the Ministry’s visit to Robben Island, they noticed that there was progress at RIM. He confirmed that they have achieved step one towards functionality and stabilising the entity. There is good progress under the new leadership of Prof Cooper and the new CEO. With the number of issues that the new leadership must address, he trusts that they can address these. The new leadership is faced with a binary with no longer relying on the fiscus to run RIM and they cannot privatise the entity, and the new financial model should be able to sustain the entity. After visiting the Nelson Mandela Gateway, he is pleased that the number of visitors is picking up again, especially after the impact of COVID-19. He commended the leadership of the Deputy Minister and its leadership as he outlined that this picked up because of their intervention. Their expectation from now onwards is not just to see an increase in visitors but it is to also have these meetings held in Robben Island. As part of the build-up to the 30th anniversary, they are planning to also go to meetings where they will be talking about Cabinet Committees, and participate in activities to encourage future generations to appreciate their history. Through their turnaround strategy, they have managed to achieve certain milestones and build on the work such as the increase in the number of visitors, financial management, leadership, and stakeholders, including the ex-political prisoners. He apologised on behalf of the council members for not presenting evidence that proves there’s progress within RIM in the presentation, which he confirmed there is.

Deputy Minister Nocawe Mafu noted that she had nothing to add.

The Chairperson thanked the RIM council members for an informative meeting. The Committee is looking forward to seeing the mandate that the Deputy Minister has been given. The Committee has hope in the Ministry and the new RIM leadership.

The Committee adopted the minutes of 12, 15 and 19 May 2023. Attention was drawn to the 19 May 2023 decision that the Committee is not going to have a meeting with Chess South Africa until further notice.

The meeting was adjourned.