Cultural Affairs and Sport
With regard to the National Draft Museum Policy:
Whether the policy has been finalised; if not, (a) why not and (b) when does the Department expect it to be finalised; if so, where can a copy of the policy be obtained?
In terms of Schedule 5 of the Constitution, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport is mandated to draft exclusive provincial legislation regarding museums other than national museums. In 2010 the Department conducted a situational analysis via the discussion paper: Towards a New Western Cape Provincial Museum Policy. Based on the aforementioned process, the Department approved the Western Cape Museum Policy in 2015. The aim of the Policy is to provide opportunities for individuals and communities to establish and maintain museums in the Western Cape within a framework consistent with constitutional provisions. The Policy will further guide the development on a new provincial Museum Bill which the Department is currently working on. In the interim the Department seeked to amend the Museums Ordinance No. 8 of 1975 in order to align it with the Constitution and other legislation, align it to good practice in the industry and for Province-aided Museums to be audited by professional accredited Auditors other than the Auditor-General due to the annual exorbitant costs. The Museums Ordinance Amendment Act 2021 was successfully finalised and came into effect as of 1 April 2021.
