Challenges faced by the Limpopo Heritage Resources Authority in the conservation of heritage resources, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Heritage conservation is an enormous challenge in South Africa. Although the National Heritage Resources Act (No 25 of 1999) (NHRA) is amongst the best heritage legislation in the world, implementation has proved to be problematic. NHRA made provision for the establishment of the Limpopo Heritage Resources Authority (LIHRA), an institution of the provincial government responsible to coordinate heritage management in the Limpopo Province. Currently, LIHRA’s duties are either not clearly articulated, or it is not exercising its authority prudently. Consequently, heritage conservation in the Limpopo Province is limited. This study explored the challenges experienced by LIHRA in the conservation and management of heritage resources in the Limpopo Province. It examined LIHRA’s mandate and duties, legislation, budget, physical resources, personnel profile, social responsibility challenges, local politics, infrastructure, and external developmental threats. Furthermore, it investigated LIHRA’s intergovernmental relations and cooperation with other government bodies. The attitudes of heritage site managers and other staff towards conservation and their working conditions, as well as execution challenges, were also documented. Lastly, the study examined the local community’s awareness and expectations of the work being done by LIHRA, as well as the need to conserve and manage heritage resources. The study selected members of the LIHRA council and the seconded LIHRA officials from the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), executives of Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET), the Department of Public Works (DPW) and the South African Police Services (SAPS), and heritage manager at the Dzata in the Vhembe District, as well as the custodian of the Tšate Provincial Heritage Site in the Greater Sekhukhune District of the Limpopo Province. Furthermore, local community members of Ha-Mandiwana in the Vhembe District and in the Tšate Greater Sekhukhune District were also designated. These participants were nominated because of their involvement and knowledge in heritage conservation. A semi-structured questionnaire was employed, and a thematic analysis method was used to analyse the data. v It has been established that LIHRA does not receive sufficient support from the provincial DSAC, even though the NHRA makes provision of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) of DSAC to be accountable for it. LIHRA is not fully functional and is therefore unable to fulfil its mandate. This is due to a lack of adequate funds, staff, and physical (logistical) resources, such as vehicles. Therefore, most of its duties are performed by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) on their behalf. Instead, it has been assigned to only perform Section 34 of the NHRA, which deals with the conservation of historic buildings. LIHRA is unable to attend to site visits or to interact with heritage site managers. Therefore, to the managers/custodians, LIHRA exists only in name. Furthermore, it comes as no surprise that local communities near heritage sites are not even aware of LIHRA’s existence. However, the museum section of DSAC oversees provincial heritage sites with museums, which effectively means that provincial sites, which do not have museums are neglected by both LIHRA and DSAC. In conclusion, LIHRA’s existence is very important for the survival of heritage resources in the Limpopo Province; hence the MEC must be held accountable for its under-performance. It is recommended that the MEC must ensure that LIHRA is provided with the essential tools it needs to become fully functional, commencing with legislation and a competency assessment from SAHRA. LIHRA must strengthen ties with other government departments to simplify heritage conservation in the province. Heritage managers/custodians need to have a close relationship with LIHRA to ensure that sites do not lose their provincial heritage status. However, for that to happen, LIHRA needs to be more proactive. Information about LIHRA must be accessible to the public, as heritage conservation is the responsibility of everyone, not only LIHRA.