Overview of the Presentation
1. Vision
2.
3. Collections
4. Annual Report
5. Specific questions:
5.1
Employment equity
5.2
Artefacts from war against MPLA in 1975
5.3
Ownership of building
5.4 Black people in ABW
To collect, curate and
display items relating to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 - 1902 and the Rebellion
of 1914; research and publications on these themes and co-operation with other
organisations, nationally and internationally, in order to develop these themes
Vision
To develop the mission of
the museum by depicting the suffering of war to such an extent that its message
creates an anti-war mentality that will culminate in the realisation that
negotiation is preferable to war.
Slide 5
MY TEXT: IN
ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE
Collections
Valuable paintings and
sculptures
A Photographic
collection in Excess of 10 000
Textiles and household
items from the period
Prisoner-of -war
handcraft
A world class
philatelic collection
A representative
collection of fire-arms
A wide collection of
databases
Documents and books
pertaining to the war
Slide 6
MY TEXT: I
HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO
THE ONLY NEGATIVE ASPECT WAS AN UNCALLED FOR
REMARK IN THE AUDIT REPORT REFERRING TO THE DELAY IN THE APPOINTMENT OF THE
COUNCIL. THIS IS A MATTER COMPLETELY OUT
OF THE HAND OF THE MUSEUM AND FALLS COMPLETELY UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE
MINISTER AND THEREFORE, BY IMPLICATION, UNDER THAT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS
AND CULTURE.
1. General: New system for performance
based staff evaluation implemented
2. Performance information: 10 of 12 targets achieved (Strategic Plan)
3. Report of the Auditor-General: No
audit findings
4. Financial statements
MY TEXT: I DO NOT THINK I
NEED TO REPORT IN DETAIL ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SINCE IT WAS AUDITED AND
FOUND A 100% REFLECTION OF THE TRANSACTIONS CONDUCTED BY THE MUSEUM
I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION
THAT THE ASPECT OF ACCESSIBILITY FOR DISABLED PERSONS ARE STILL A SERIOUS
CONCERN.
THIS MATTER IS NOW REPORTED
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THE MUSEUM’S ANNUAL REPORT TO ASSIST THE SEVERAL REQUESTS
THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS VIA THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE,
AND
TO SUPPORT THE FACT THAT IT
HAS BEEN INCLUDED FOUR TIMES IN THE MUSEUM’S STRATEGIC PLANS UNDER THE RELEVANT
HEADING.
Performance information Key Objectives
Income
Entrance Fees
Key Objective Target
To increase number of 10% increase
visitors per
annum
Achieved (17%)
Slide 8
Performance information Key Objectives
Income
Business Ventures
Key Objective Target
Renting of facilities 15% increase
& marketing of publications per annum
Not
Achieved (due to lowering of price of
books
for sale)
Income
Investment Income
Key Objective Target
Utilisation of investments 10% increase
to increase income per annum
Achieved (49%)
Slide 10
Expenditure
Support functions
Key Objective Target
To lower percentage of income Keep percentage
spent on staff maintenance below 75%
Slide 11
Performance information Key Objectives
Expenditure
Collection, conservation & curation
Key Objective Target
1.
Upgrade record keeping 60%
computerised at
system end of year Achieved
(Achieved)
2. Focus
collection on Progress reports
British forces and Black
Participants
Performance information Key Objectives
Expenditure
Publications
Key Objective Target
To support external To be involved with
research for publications at least 2 publications
by external publishers
per annum Achieved
Performance information Key Objectives
Expenditure
Education & public programmes
Key Objective Target
1. To
develop programmes To be
operational
to
supplement history in 2007
teaching in schools Achieved
2. Cater
for specialist groups Get at least 2
groups involved
Achieved
Slide 14
Performance information Key Objectives
Expenditure
Exhibitions
Key Objective Target
Continually upgrade Quarterly progress
permanent exhibitions reports Achieved
Rotation of temporary 3 per annum
exhibitions Achieved
MY TEXT: IN MY FINAL INVITATION FOR THIS BRIEFING I WAS
ASKED TO ELABORATE ON FOUR SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
THE FIRST THREE HAVE QUITE SIMPLE ANSWERS, BUT THE
Specific questions
Question 1. Employment
equity
Answer:
1. Staff complement = 25, thus below requirement of Employment
Equity Act
2. Council, however, committed to spirit of the
act:
Due to low staff turnover only 6 appointments
made in previous 24 months:
1xblack female; 2xblack male; 2xwhite female
1xwhite male
Specific questions
Question 2. Artefacts
from 1975 war between SADF and MPLA
Answer:
The
Specific questions
Question 3. Who
owns the museum building?
Answer:
The museum building and surrounding grounds
belong to the
Specific questions
Question 4. Black
involvement and deaths in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 - 1902
Answer:
MY TEXT: BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION I WANT TO POINT OUT
THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH A PART OF OUR HISTORY WHICH WAS NEGLECTED FOR A LONG
TIME.
AS PART OF THE
1.
2. Appointed a researcher for a period of
five years to research topic.
3. Researcher, Dr Kessler, died in 2007
4. His research was completed in the form
of a doctoral thesis
5. Some of his findings point to the
problems surrounding the subject
Slide 19
Question 4 (Continued)
Official British
Returns (Camps only)
(Department
of Native Refugees)
Number
of Number of Number of
camps inmates deaths
OR Colony 34 49 054 8 032
Total 70 114 964 13 218
MY
TEXT: LET ME ELABORATE ON THESE
FIGURES. THESE FIGURES REFER TO CAMPS
ONLY AND THEN ONLY TO CAMPS IN THE REFUGEE CATEGORY. THERE WERE ALSO LABOUR CAMPS AND CAMPS TO
CONTAIN INDEPENDENT BLACK FARMERS WHO FAVOURED THE BOER CAUSE AND WERE IN THE
POSITION TO GIVE LOGISTICAL SUPPORT TO THE BOER FORCES.
SECONDLY
THESE FIGURES REFER TO THE SO-CALLED “NATIVE CAMPS” WHISLT A LARGE PORTION OF
BLACK PEOPLE WERE IN THE SO-CALLED “WHITE CAMPS” AS I WILL ILLUSTRATE IN A
LATER SLIDE.
BLACK
PEOPLE WHO DIED IN THE ACTUAL BATTLES, BE IT ON BOER OR BRITISH SIDE ARE NOT
INCLUDED
Slide
20
Some facts and figures:
According to the official British records:
13 218 Black people died in camps
14 000 + died in the course of the war
According to Dr Kessler:
21 000+ died in camps (based on research and not
projections)
Names are incomplete and virtually non-existent
after 31 August 1901
MY TEXT: THIS STATEMENT IS SUPPORTED BY THE NEXT FOUR
SLIDES WHICH GIVE NAMES OF BLACK DEATHS IN A WHITE CAMP (MIDDELBURG).
Slide 21
Question 4 (Continued)
Black deaths in white camps (Middelburg)
Name of Deceased Age
Jan 100
Abraham ~50
Kleinbooi 20
Gideon van Zyl
MJante 12
Mapoch 19
Native child of Katakela 0.02
Jeremias .58
Child of Willem Slabel 0.07
Petrus 11.08
Selina ~15
Suzanna 5.29
Tungile 1
Cleopas Kunnene 1.083
Fokkie 2.83
Slide
22
Middelburg (Continued)
Hessie 30.5
Child of Willem Slabel 0.05
Maria child of Kleinbooi 0.58
Rachel 9
Feile, Native Son of Maklyd. 2..17
Arora 5.04
Celina 0.42
Zambesi 14
Martha ~25
Elsie 10.83
Jantje 35
Picanien 6
Susar 6
Hannah 12.92
Magriet 1.92
Jacobus 1.66
Sheekwish 1.17
Middelburg (Continued)
Phillip 3.17
Matheus Swanepoel 6
Jsann J? Maria 3.58
Willem 1.33
Dina 14
Filemon Maseko ~25
Jim ~26
Maijes 1.17
Jan 1
“Native child.” 0.17
Slallen 16
Jan 76
Koos 3.0
Hendrick 16
Adam 1.58
Taboel Annie 0.08
Sien 2
Bethseba 0.58
Clara Bosman 30
Middelburg (Continued)
Dalia 40
Sophia 41
Stephanus 3
Mietje 1.5
Willem 0.66
Smardrik 1
Hans 3.29
Dorthea 1.5
Dina 40
Dina N.i.
Ardrina 1.08
Johannes Meloek 40
Magriet 0.33
Willem Francois Koene 2..58
Bolauw ~19
Salieka 4.33
Hermanus 3
Slide 25
MY TEXT: THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE DISCREPANCY
BETWEEN NBUBERS AND RECORDED NAMES AND STRESSES THE SHORTCOMING WITH REGARD TO
RECORD KEEPING.
Total deaths until 31 August 1901: 453
Total number of names for period: 223
Footnote by Dr S Kessler:
This camp was transferred to the Department of
Native Refugees in September 1901 and no longer reported death statistics after
31 August 1901. The Department only provided statistics of the number of the
dead given under the headings of Men, Women and Children and no longer reported
the names of the deceased persons and the causes of death.
MY TEXT: THIS CONCLUSION BY DR KESSLER IN HIS THESIS IS
BASED ON YEARS’ OF RESEARCH AND POINTS TO THE FUTILITY OF ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN A
COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF NAMES.
THIS UNDERLINES THE BASIC PROBLEM WITH REGARD TO
THE PLANS AT “
Conclusion by Dr Kessler in his thesis
It is clear that as many as 25,000 or even more
deaths actually took place in the black concentration camps. Several very
important factors underlie this estimate and it is important to briefly list
them. First of all a significant amount of the record of the black deaths in
the concentration camps has substantially disappeared or never existed. There
are no death records or registers in the case of the
The British Army also operated Army Labour
Depots where several thousand black workers were contracted out to the various
Army Departments. There are no death registers or statistics for these depots
and ancillary camps. Some of these black men who died in the work camps of the
Army Departments were the fathers, husbands, sons and brothers of the black
families in the temporary camps along the railway in the
Slide
27
(A recommendation?)
Dr Kessler has done
thorough research on this topic to the extent that the
To finally lay the
matter to rest his widow should be paid a substantial amount to purchase the
copyright thereof and under the direction of a responsible editor the
Department of Arts and Culture should publish it as a book or report.