The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, together with the Provincial Government of Gauteng, represented by the office of the Premier and the Provincial Department of Arts, Culture and Recreation, on 18 December, met with the appointed liquidators, Tugendhaft Wapnick Banchetti & Partners. The meeting was to find an amicable solution to the management of the Nelson Mandela House, No 8115, Orlando West, Soweto.
This meeting took place against the backdrop of Minister Nathi Mthethwa last week impressing upon the representatives of the liquidators for an urgent need to engage on the subject matter. This followed a widely publicised intention to liquidate the museum. Driving the point home, Minister Mthethwa stated, “Mandela and his legacy are not a mere transactional affair. He represents the heritage and the soul of this nation and is not and cannot be for sale”. As the Department we are pleased that the liquidators understand this fundamental principle on Madiba.
All the parties agreed that it is important to work together to safeguard the legacy of the late and first democratically elected President of the Republic of South Africa. The parties are therefore pleased to inform the public that the meeting concluded that the liquidation process will be placed on hold to allow the parties to resolve the governance status of the museum.
The meeting further confirmed that the museum will be opened to the public and that Government will work with Tugendhaft Wapnick Banchetti & Partners to ensure that the operations of the museum are not negatively affected by the process. The Department has been reliably apprised by Tugendhaft Wapnick Banchetti & Partners that the cultural collections of the museum are in safe keeping by the committed and diligent employees of the museum.
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