Government allocates R0 to maintain South Africa’s heritage sites

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, says there is no budget for the maintenance or restoration of South Africa’s national heritage sites.

Responding to a question about funding the maintenance and restoration of provincial heritage sites, McKenzie stated that the department is not responsible for these sites, but rather for national heritage sites. 

These properties, he explained, are under the care and maintenance of government entity the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).

This is responsible for funding the sites. “Section 40 of the NHRA provides for the National Heritage Resources Assistance Fund,” he said.

The fund provides assistance to operators of National Heritage Sites for maintenance and repairs.

However, he added: “the fund is not currently active due to budget constraints.” 

Newsday reached out to the Minister’s spokesperson, Stacey-Lee Khojane, for more information. She said, “Will revert if the minister will respond.” Newsday did not hear anything back.

This fund is supposed to be administered by SAHRA in the form of a grant or a loan to any individual, body or project that aims to contribute to National Heritage sites. 

The SAHRA governs the application procedure and the loan or grant amount is decided on for each application. 

“Any financial assistance in terms of this section is to be provided out of a fund reserved by SAHRA for this purpose, which shall be called the National Heritage Resources Fund,” the NHRA states. 

In its latest annual performance plan, SAHRA stated that measly budget allocations from the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) have been hindering its ability to fulfil its mandate for years. 

“The organisation relies primarily on budget allocations from DSAC, which have decreased over the years, threatening its ability to fulfil its mandate effectively,” SAHRA said. 

National Heritage Resources Fund ‘inactive’

Chief Executive Officer Adv. Lungisa Malgas highlighted in the 2024/2025 annual report that despite being underfunded already in the last financial year, the DSAC has kept its budget contribution to SAHRA flat with only a slight increase of 4% for 2025/2026. 

“The Programme funding subsidy allocated to SAHRA by the DSAC remains insufficient to meet the entity’s annual operating expenses,” Malgas said.

“This has resulted in SAHRA’s dependence on donor funding and self-generated income streams to meet the operational needs.”

In August 2025, the DSAC announced it was commencing with a review of the NHRA, arguing that the act is outdated.

“NHRA was promulgated 25 years ago. This was a time when the first democratic dispensation was still in its infancy and finding its feet in terms of the new heritage landscape to be developed,” the Department said.

“The cost implications of the implementation of the NHRA have never been determined.”

“This means that the system of management of South Africa’s heritage has been developed and implemented without necessarily having access to the required resources, especially financial and human resources.”

Despite funding challenges, SAHRA has maintained a clean audit for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, marking the fourth year in a row.

The entity has a performance rate of meeting an average of 96% of its targets for the last four years, and is aggressively pursuing other revenue streams to fund its projects. 

However, the erection and rehabilitation of heritage sites, coupled with decaying infrastructure on others, is a major challenge. 

‘Not a penny from government’

This has left National Heritage sites to search for other revenue streams when funding restoration and maintenance. 

Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of the Castle of Good Hope’s Control Board, told Newsday that funding for repairs and maintenance at South Africa’s oldest building will never be enough.

“We recognise that the Castle, a historic symbol of armed colonial conquest and apartheid means different things to different people,” said Gilfellan.

“But since we use it as a tourism, events, memorialisation, education, and filming venue, it needs consistent maintenance and repairs.”

This is funded by the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans as well as Defence, through the Regional Works Unit Western Cape, according to the CEO.

Another heritage site, Mapungubwe National Park in Limpopo, is operated by SANParks. It has recently announced the commencement of a project to upgrade the park’s roads. 

In place of the NHRA, The project is funded through the Southern African Development Community Transfrontier Conservation Areas (SADC TFCA) Financing Facility.

It was also supported financially by Government of the Federal Republic of Germany under the KfW Development Bank. 

The Voortrekker Monument, on the other hand, said it is placed under immense financial pressure and that it “does not receive a penny from government.”

“We therefore depend on our own people to enable us to preserve and develop our rich culture and heritage, and to keep our doors open to the public as a world-class tourist attraction.”

Newsday contacted the DSAC, but did not get a reply by time of publication. Comment will be added if received.