Question NW299 to the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture

Reply:

(1)(a). The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) is the custodian in terms of section 4 of the Government Immovable Asset Management Act (GIAMA), 2007 (Act no. 19 of 2007 and in terms of the Day to Day Maintenance Guidelines must pay “for services which falls within the scope of the Day to Day Maintenance Services obliged for an amount exceeding R100 000”, this amount was previously R30 000.

In terms of GIAMA, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) is the user and is required to fund day to day maintenance of R100 000 and less for buildings, including Iziko Old Townhouse (IOTH), occupied by Iziko Museums, one of its public entities. So when there were two electrical fires at IOTH that caused the closure of the building, Iziko Museums immediately attended to the repairs required which amounted to about R55 000.00 and due to the age of the building also commissioned an Architect to inspect and estimate the scope of work further electrical work required. The assessment was that the electrical wiring needed to be replaced as it was a fire hazard. DPWI was informed accordingly.

An Architect with heritage experience was appointed to manage the repair and maintenance project to address safety issues to ensure that the IOTH infrastructure is compliant with health and safety requirements.

(b). The building will be reopened to the public once the building has been declared compliant in terms of health and safety requirements.

2(a). As indicated in paragraph (1)(a) above, the Minister of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has been appointed as the custodian of the immovable assets which vest in the national sphere of government and is thus the caretaker of the state-owned building IOTH in terms of GIAMA. In terms of the Day to Day Maintenance Guidelines, DPWI is responsible for all work exceeding R100 000 and as the user, DSAC is responsible for all work costing R100 000 and the Department has delegated this responsibility to Iziko Museums.

(b). This work exceeds R100 000, so this question should be posed to the Minister of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) who is appointed as custodian of state-owned buildings and, in terms of GIAMA section 4(2), is the caretaker of state-owned buildings such as the IOTH and thus responsible for repairs and maintenance of R100 000 and more and specifically those projects related to health and safety.

(3). As indicated in paragraph (1)(a) above, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture is not the custodian of state-owned buildings and as user is only required to fund repairs and maintenance projects of R100 000 and below, but DSAC has nevertheless previously allocated R9.51million to develop a five-year Conservation and Maintenance Plan for the nine state-owned buildings occupied by Iziko Museums so Architects developed the following documents for each of the nine buildings:

• As-Built Drawings;
• An Existing Building Condition Report;
• A Conservation Management Plan; and
• A five-year Conservation and Maintenance Plan.

In terms of the South African National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act No. 25 of 1999), all heritage buildings must be managed in terms of a Conservation and Maintenance Plan (CMP) to protect the heritage resource. The CMP for the nine buildings submitted to the provincial authority Heritage Western Cape (HWC) for approval, but only eight were approved as the CMP for one building had been mislaid.

Although not required, DSAC also allocated R1 509 248, 00 for the repair and maintenance of buildings occupied by Iziko Museums. A Project Manager with architectural and heritage experience was appointed and applications for repair and renovation permits were submitted to HWC in terms of the South African National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act No. 25 of 1999).

A project implementation plan was developed and the project brief for the tender to appoint a Contractor to carry out repair and renovation, including painting services, at IOTH and other buildings occupied by Iziko. The Contractor for the repair and renovation and painting services for buildings occupied by Iziko Museums, including IOTH, will be appointed by 30 April 2021.

As DPWI did not allocate funding for this health and safety project, DSAC also allocated the amount of R4 395 212 for the electrical wiring that must be replaced at IOTH as it was a fire hazard.

Although HWC had approved a permit for repair and maintenance as well as the CMP for IOTH, Iziko Museums was informed that a further permit application is required for the electrical repairs. The tender documentation to appoint a Contractor to do the electrical repairs has been prepared, but it cannot be advertised until the permit approval is received as there might be further stipulations from HWC that would need to be incorporated in the scope of work, as was the case with the permit applications for painting the buildings.

HWC issued permits for the repair and renovation of IOTH as well as other buildings occupied by Iziko more than a year after Iziko Museums had submitted the applications, so timelines are dependent on how long HWC will take to issue a permit for electrical work to be carried out at IOTH.