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TimesLIVE reports that the Robben Island Museum is in the midst of a financial crisis, which it once again is blaming on the effects of Covid-19 on the tourism sector rather than on mismanagement of funds.
This comes as the museum's 233 staff brace for 50% salary cuts from June. The museum has been embroiled in a scandal after damning findings in two forensic probes, almost two and a half years after former political prisoners delivered a whistle-blower report. In a statement on Wednesday, the museum's head of marketing and tourism, Siphuxolo Mazwi, said the prolonged economic onslaught of Covid-19 had pushed the organisation into financial crisis mode. “Museum management is now considering various business rationalisation options, with effect from June this year until such time that there is a resumption of normal business at the museum. This includes cutting staff salaries by 50% with equally reduced working hours across the board and/or invoking section 189 of the Labour Relations Act for operational reasons (i.e. retrenchment),” said Mazwi. He added that museum employees had been informed of the situation through a process of internal engagement, wherein options were being discussed. It was reported last Sunday that the financial troubles at the museum went way beyond Covid-19 and were linked to irregularities listed in a forensic investigation, which recommended disciplinary action against museum CEO Mava Dada for breach of contract. Despite the findings, Dada remains in his R2.4m-a-year job, while “disciplinary processes are under way”. Mazwi denounced claims that RIM was showing signs of decay after several media reports published pictures of dilapidated buildings on the island.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Orrin Singh at TimesLIVE
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