Voortrekker monument in financial crisis
Management of the Voortrekker monument has been forced to charge visitors a heritage levy to keep its head above water after the arts and culture department canned its subsidy to the national heritage site.
The Voortrekker monument is facing a major financial crisis after the arts and culture department unilaterally cancelled a R2 million annual subsidy to the heritage site – one of the country’s top tourist attractions.
Management at the monument has now resorted to introducing a R15 heritage site charge for visitors to raise some money for essential maintenance of the site.
“We were verbally informed in November last year by the department of arts and culture that we would no longer be receiving a state subsidy,” monument media and communications officer Geraldine Paulsen said.
“It appeared that it had been an instruction of the national treasury to the department to halt the subsidy along the guideline that no undeclared cultural institution, such as the Voortrekker monument, would in future receive funding from arts and culture.”
Attempts by Rekord to get comment from the department about the cancellation of the R2 million subsidy were not successful.
Paulsen said despite several requests to the department for official written communication about this one-sided decision, the monument had to date received no written notification.
However, the withdrawal of the subsidy was not the only factor that had a negative impact on the financial state of the national heritage site.
“Since March last year to February this year, the general economic climate in South Africa has had a negative influence on national travel and disposable income,” Paulsen said.
This had led to a decrease of 19% in paying visitors during that period, she said, adding that the monument had lost 26% of its total income – 10% in gate money and 16% as a result of the halting of the subsidy.
Between March and May this year, income had further decreased as a result of:
· New visa regulations, resulting in the cancellation by foreigners of travel plans; and
· The further decline in the SA economy.
“During the first quarter of this financial year the Voortrekker monument has experienced a decrease of 37% in international tourism and a 13% decrease in the number of national visitors compared to the same period in 2014,” Paulsen said, explaining this had resulted in a total decrease of 26% of paying visitors.
“Our income in this three-month period alone decreased by more than half a million rand.”
She said the situation was jeopardising their ability to conserve this treasure for future generations.
“It also forced management of the monument to embark on several sweeping measures.”
One of the steps the monument had been forced to take was the introduction of a R15 heritage levy per vehicle on all visitors to the monument.
The money raised through the levy was however only enough to keep the terrain neat and tidy and to ensure the safety of visitors, Paulsen told Rekord.
Figures of the number of foreign visitors to the Voortrekker monument over the past three years clearly indicated the critical decrease.
In 2013 a total of 32 053 international tourists visited the monument, while in 2014, the number was 30 580. To date this year, 18 862 foreigners visited the monument.
The decline in foreign visitors could also be linked to the recent Ebola outbreak and xenophobic attacks in the country that made international headlines.
Paulsen said the Voortrekker monument would however not merely accept the decision of the subsidy withdrawal and negotiations in this regard were ongoing.
In the meantime, Paulsen called on members of the public to join the Friends of the Voortrekker monument and said donations would be welcome. Marketing of the monument had also been increased.
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