Speaking at the inauguration of members of Council members of six of the Department of Arts and Culture’s esteemed statutory agencies, Voortrekker Museum, Luthuli Museum, Afrikaans Taal Museum, William Humphreys Art Gallery, War Museum of the Boer Republics and National English Literary Museum, Minister Paul Mashatile said that:
“It is the contention of the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) that the arts, culture and heritage sector is of both tangible and immeasurable intangible value. Government, together with civil society and in this case I want to challenge you council members that we have a responsibility to conserve and protect our culture and heritage for current and future generations. Together with you council members, we have a responsibility to transmit and present our culture and heritage for social and economic development. These two responsibilities are inextricably linked. Our culture and heritage are key to nation building and social cohesion, and these are the ingredients for creating a climate of social stability and economic growth.”
The new council members are as follows:
The following council members have been appointed to serve on the Luthuli Museum Council:
Mr Stanley Bodrick
He is the Executive Manager for stakeholder marketing and support at the Johannesburg Property Company.
Mr Brijal Dharamraj (Baboo)
He is currently the Human Resource Manager for the Legal Aid South Africa. He is also a member of the Chartered Human Resource Practitioners of South Africa.
Ms Pretty Mapipa-Ndlovu
Ms Mapipa-Ndlovu was recommended because of her legal expertise.
Prof. Vuyisile Msila
Professor Msila is associate professor at the University of Johannesburg in the educational management department.
Mr Vishnu Naidoo
Mr Naidoo is currently the head of the Financial Aid Office in the University of Zululand.
Dr Zola Njongwe
Dr Zola Njongwe is a community health specialist and senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria.
Adv. Josephine Ralefatane
Adv. Josephine was recommended because of her legal expertise in labour relations. She is currently a board member of the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, which is responsible for the development of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the Gauteng province.
Mrs Nokuzola Yokwana
Ms Yokwana is a consultant and a provincial Director for Primary Health Care and Community Service. She is very involved in the community around Groutville.
Mr Jabulani Sithole
Mr Sithole is a historian. He has done extensive research on the history of politics in the twentieth century South African and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The following council members have been appointed to serve on the Anglo Boer War Museum of the Boer Republics:
Mr Tshito Challa
Mr Challa is an experienced records manager, senior archivist, educator and researcher.
Prof Joseph Henning
Professor Henning is also the former chairperson of the War Museum, which will ensure continuity. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Free State.
Dr Nangakhulu Lidovho
Dr Lidovho is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and also the legal advisor to the Vice Chancellor and Principal at the University of Venda.
Mr Mohlomi Masooa
Mr Masooa is currently an educator at the Department of Education and Culture in the Free State Province teaching History as his major subject.
Mrs Sonja Myburgh
Mrs Myburgh is an Honorary Curator of the War Museum Photographic collection which is one of the museum’s largest assets and Chairperson of the Bloemfontein Photographic Club where she plays a pivotal role in the training of photographers.
Ms Sibongile Nkomo
Ms Nkomo is currently the Chairperson of the Audit committee of the Randfontein Local Council in Gauteng.
Ms Jacoline Ntshingila
Ms Ntshingila is the provincial manager of the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA). She is also an expert in the field of marketing.
Mr Mogurhoff Twala
Mr Twala is the Chairperson of the Free State Heritage Resources Agency. He is also the Free State representative on the SAHRA council.
Dr Arnold van Dyk
Dr van Dyk is a renowned medical practitioner in the Free State province. He is also known nationally and internationally as a collector of Anglo Boer War material which includes documents, books, photographs and artefacts.
Dr Petrus Jan van der Merwe
Dr van der Merwe serves as a Mayoral Committee Member responsible for Finance and the Integrated Development Plan.
The following councillors are appointed to serve on the Voortrekker Msunduzi Museum:
Mr Bruce Hopwood
Mr Hopwood is a journalist by profession and is also a member of the KZN Tourism Board from KwaZulu-Natal.
Mr Pieter Nel
Mr P Nel is currently the Assistant Director at the Pietermaritzburg Archives; he has made a very significant contribution in assisting the museum in accessing information to develop programmes. He is also the founding Chairperson of the Msunduzi Museum.
Prof Patric Ngulube
Professor Ngulube is also a former lecturer on museums at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is also the editor in Chief of the Msunduzi Museum Journal.
Mr Albert van Jaarsveld
Mr van Jaarsveld is a member of the South African Archaeological and Historical societies. He is currently the head of the history department at the University of Zululand.
Prof Zamokwakhe Khumalo
Prof Khumalo is the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand. He is the chairperson of the outgoing council of the Voortrekker Museum.
Mr Richard Chernis
Dr Chernis has been involved in a wide range of cultural and heritage activities at provincial, national and international level.
Ms Cecilia Kruger
Ms Kruger is lecturer in Museum and Heritage studies since 1990 and this has provided her with an in depth knowledge and experience of this fraternity.Ms Kruger is employed at the Voortrekker Monument as a Deputy CEO.
Mr Monde Alvin Mondi
Mr Mondi is currently the General Manager for Human Resource at the Intersite Property. He is currently serving as a Board member of the Alfred Nzo Development Agency based at the Alfred Nzo District Municipality.
Prof Shahid Vawda
He is also a former member of the museum He is currently the associate professor in the Anthropology department at the Wits University. He is also a former member of the committee of Gandhi – Luthuli Peace Institute.
Mr Dingaan Mangena
Mr Mangena is a practicing attorney. He has interest in historical issues and heritage sites.
Ms Leonie Marais-Botes
Ms Marais-Botes is a heritage practitioner and has been in the service of various organizations dealing with heritage resources for the past 16 years.
Ms Yvette Abrahms
The following council members are appointed to serve on the board of the National English Literary Museum (NELM):
Ms Pamela Paton
Ms Paton is a previous council member. She is currently serving as the Eastern Cape representative onto the Council of the South African Institute of Race Relations.
Dr William Rowland
Dr Rowland served the South African National Council for the Blind as the Executive Director until 2007 and is now the honorary President of the same institution. He is the first Chairperson and the honorary President of the Disabled People South Africa (DPSA).
Dr Desiree Lewis
Dr Lewis is a leading scholar and currently based at the University of the Western Cape in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies. She is a past member of the NELM Council.
Prof Michael Titlestad
Prof Titlestad is also a former council member of the National English Literary Museum. He is a lecturer at the Wits University.
Prof James Ogude
Prof Ogude is currently a Professor and head of African Literature (Faculty of Humanities) at WITS. Prof Ogude has been a council member and was chairperson of the outgoing NELM Council.
Prof Karin de Jager
Prof de Jager is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information and Library Studies at the University of Cape Town.
Ms Pumla Madiba
Ms Madiba has been a council member of the outgoing Iziko Museum. She is a member of the Reference Group of the Sarah Bartmann Project. She is a former SAHRA CEO.
Prof. Andries Oliphant
Prof. Oliphant is a poet, a writer and a Publisher. He is the Chairperson of National Arts Coalition and Chairperson of Arts and Culture Trust.
Ms Medee Rall
Ms Rall is a former lecturer of museology at the University of Stellenbosch.She is also a member of the South African Museum Association.
Mr Henk Smith (Western Cape)
Mr Smith is serving on the outgoing SAHRA council. He is a practicing attorney with commercial and litigation experience.
Mr Philasande Mtheleli (Eastern Cape)
Mr Mtheleli is currently employed as a Senior Manager Audit Intervention Project at the Eastern Cape Department of Health.
The following are the new council members of the Afrikaans Taal Museum:
Dr MLA le Cordeur
Dr Le Cordeur is an academic from the University of the Western Cape. He is the Chairperson of the Western Cape Language Committee.
Prof Willem Carstens
Prof Carstens has been Director of the School of Languages at the Potchefstroom campus, North West University since 2001. He is the deputy chairperson of the South African Academy of Science and the Arts from 2008-2011.
Prof Ernst Kotze
Prof Kotze is a retired experienced lexicographer and language practitioner who has been actively engaged in the field of linguistics since 1972. He has been a member of the outgoing Afrikaans Taal Museum Council.
Dr Johannes Rossouw
Dr Rossouw has been in the employ of the SA Reserve Bank in Pretoria since 1986.He currently holds the title Deputy General Manager in the Office of the Governor of the Reserve Bank.
Mr Mlungisi Sabela
Mr Sabela is a part-time Commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and other bargaining councils.He is also a council member of the National Museum.
Prof Gerrit Olivier
Prof Olivier is the Director of the Centre for European Studies in Africa at the University of Johannesburg.
Prof Hein Willemse
Prof Willemse is the current Head of Department of Afrikaans at the University of Pretoria. He joined the Naspers group as Director in August 2002.
The following are the council members appointed to serve on the board of the William Humphreys Art Gallery (WHAG):
Mr D Robbins
Mr Robbins is a writer, editor and development practitioner. Mr Robbins is the director of the DGR Writing and Research.
Ms Michelle Bossenger
Ms Bossenger is the Company Secretary for the De Beers Consolidated Mine. The WHAG has a contractual relationship with the DAC that the De Beers will have a representative on the WHAG council and Ms Bossenger is representing De Beers.
Ms Veronica Bruce
Ms Bruce represents the special friends of the WHAG in the council. She is also a committee member of the combined tour guide association.
Prof Estelle Marais
Ms Marais is currently a freelance artist who has taught at the International School for South Africa in the North West, teaching art and the history of art for O and A levels.
Judge Christine Williams
Judge William was appointed as a judge in 2003. She has a keen interest in the arts and she is strongly community-minded.
Dr Patricia Davies
Dr Davies was formerly employed by the Iziko Museums of Cape Town as the Director responsible for the management of the museums’ core functions, which comprised of Natural History Collections, Social History Collections, Education and Public Programmes and Exhibitions.
Council members have been appointed through the Cultural Institutions Act (Act No 119 of 1998) which specifies that the affairs of a declared institution are under the control, management and direction of a council, consisting of at least seven members, appointed by the Minister of Arts and Culture in the prescribed manner. The council is appointed for a period of three years and a member of council whose period of office has expired, may be reappointed. The chairperson of a council is appointed by the Minister from the appointed members of the council. The chairperson holds office for the period for which he or she has been appointed as member of the council.
For further information, contact:
Percy Mthimkulu
Cell: 082 389 2684
Premi Appalraju
Cell: 082 903 6778
