By Sihle Mavuso
The leadership of the KwaZulu-Natal Museums Council is worried that there is a “rush” to join it with Ditsong, a grouping of eight museums ranging from agricultural to historical.
They say a lot is at stake if the identity of KZN Museums is to be lost. The concerns were written in several letters by the board of the entity to Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa.
In one letter, the chairperson of the board, Khwezi Kunene, said they stand to lose their funding from overseas donors.
This comes amid an effort by the department to merge some museums and form larger ones across the country.
“By abolishing the KZN Museum [brand] it loses its brand image and the reputation it has with local and international stakeholders who are currently funding its research programmes.
“Not retaining the KZN Museum name poses a possible delay to the commencement of the New Museum Project as most approvals have already been obtained from Amafa AkwaZulu-Natali and the local municipality using the current name,” reads one of the letters to Kodwa.
In another concern, the board told Kodwa that it is currently in the process of approving quarter-four reports, the closing of the 2023/24 financial year and preparing for the annual audit with the Auditor-General.
“It would be prudent that the existing council be allowed to finalise and complete this governance process and do a formal handover to the reconstituted council,” it said.
Other than the board raising concerns, the staff also wrote to Kodwa to voice misgivings about the “rush” to gazette the move.
“One of the most pressing concerns raised by the gazette notice is the ambiguity surrounding the conditions of service for employees post-amalgamation.
“While it is stated that the conditions cannot be worsened for employees, there is a glaring lack of concrete contractual agreements or assurances to support this claim.
“This uncertainty has understandably led to apprehension among our staff regarding their job security and future prospects,” the employees wrote to Kodwa.
Despite making an undertaking to respond to Scrolla.Africa’s questions, Kodwa’s department later failed to honour its undertaking.
Pictured above: The KwaZulu-Natal Museums is opposed to Minister Zizi Kodwa’s move.
Image source: Facebook
