Staff Reporter.
The investigation into mismanagement at Robben Island Museum has been concluded and the full report is now available to interested parties and stakeholders for scrutiny.
Irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure at the museum were the subject of two forensic investigations by Morar Incorporated and McRobert Attorneys. Just one of the probes found nearly 16 000 instances of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Robben Island Museum Council chairperson, Khensani Maluleke, said since the conclusion of the MacRobert investigation, RIM has been transparent with its updates on the matter.
“RIM’s last presentation to Parliament was in May this year, when the Council chair briefed the Portfolio Committee of Sport, Arts and Culture on ongoing operational and governance matters,” said Maluleke.
He maintained that the RIM considered the findings of the Morar and McRobert reports closed since receiving legal advice and subsequently opting not to discipline the CEO.
“The decision to withdraw the charges against two RIM officials was informed by information produced by their legal representatives, to substantiate their defence. The matter is now closed and no further engagement was entered into in this regard,” he said.
During the course of 2020, the Council for the Robben Island Museum (RIM) resolved that certain allegations of mismanagement at RIM (made by the Ex-Political Prisoners’ Association) be investigated. Following an investigation and a written report of legal advice furnished to the Council, as well as evidence produced by implicated officials, that cleared them of wrongdoing, the Council took the decision in June 2021 to discontinue the disciplinary process and issue the employees with notices in terms of which they were advised of the withdrawal of the charges.
“We have put this matter behind us. We remain committed to stakeholder relations and welcome any form of whistle blowing, substantiated with evidence to support the allegations. Going forward, we are focused on building a strong executive team that will lead RIM through and beyond the challenges of resuscitating and returning our core business to a sounder footing, including growing domestic tourism Our energy is channelled into business development and ensuring a superb visitor experience to thousands of local and national tourists in the coming months.
The term of office for some of the executives, including the CEO, recently came to an end and Council is very pleased that it has already concluded the recruitment process and made, in record time, the following key appointments:
- Chief Infrastructure Officer (CIO),
- Chief Heritage Officer (CHO) and most recently,
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
“We are extremely delighted with the appointment of our new CEO, Ms Abigail Thulare, who was formerly the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications. Ms Thulare is a highly accomplished strategist and visionary, and we have no doubt that she will lead RIM into the next era of excellence,” said Maluleke.
Read the Executive Summary Here:Robben Island Museum Executive Summary on MacRobert Investigation.