Summary of the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee Meeting of 2 November, at which the report was presented.

The Voortrekker Monument and Nature Reserve presented its history and establishment, while noting some of the significant achievements of the last 12 years. One of the major tasks was raising funds for the construction of a heritage centre at the Monument’s site and for the establishment of the research trust. The Monument listed the areas under the control of the Heritage Foundation. The focus of the presentation was the undeclared cultural institutions. The challenges faced were very critical and it was to be hoped that funding would be made available. It would be ironic that in the same year that the Monument had been awarded an upgraded status it ran the risk of closing down because of a lack of funds. The bridge between Freedom Park and the Monument was supposed to have been ready in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup but Freedom Park was had not been ready. The lack of grant funding had serious negative implications. The Monument was also losing staff as a result of the low salaries and retrenchment would have to be considered as reducing salaries would not help as salaries were already at the bare minimum. If some of the sites were made declared institutions, it would ease the financial problems.

The Committee agreed that the history of the country had to be preserved in it totality. Members noted that the Monument had created 73 jobs, called for sensitivity and tolerance to the different sides of history, and noted the need to build bridges.

These annual report presentation is available for download on the Parliamentary Monitoring Group website, along with presentations and audio recordings from the meetings.