Robben Island Museum (RIM) stakeholders, along with RIM Management and Council, are crafting a final business model that will, amongst others, preserve RIM not only for international visitors but for South African citizens as well.

This follows the conclusion of a two-day RIM workshop that culminated in a renewed commitment to key deliverables, by the tripartite alliance between RIM, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

The commitment effectively sees the three parties taking collective responsibility for the sustainable operation of one of South Africa’s most iconic World Heritage Sites. 

“I am humbled and inspired by the genuine support and collaboration that has come out of this workshop. In particular, we are better positioned to address the scalability of the new business model to advance the dual responsibility of our primary mandate of heritage conservation and universal access to ordinary citizens to the museum, while ensuring we sustain RIM operations,” said Abigail Thulare, RIM CEO.

South Africa’s tourism sector is arguably one of the hardest hit industries by COVID-19 with the destruction of lives and livelihoods.

However, it was also a sector driven by incredibly tenacious and committed people who were determined to turn the tide and contribute to South Africa’s economic recovery post-COVID, said Thulare.

She pointed out that, to this end, RIM’s engagements with stakeholders – including the National Department of Tourism, SANParks, South African Heritage Resources Agency Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries, South African Maritime Safety Authority and the Ex-Political Prisoners Association – have been a “highly productive platform that facilitated reflections on the current situation, understanding the challenges and mapping the way forward for an improved business model”.  

RIM Council Chairperson, Khensani Maluleke, said RIM had embarked on a course of action that was geared to save jobs, increase revenue and facilitate the creation of memorable experiences for both domestic and international visitors.

“We have, in fact, paid particular attention to how we make RIM more accessible to the domestic market. Taking lessons from other similar entities who have successfully implemented public private partnerships, we are expanding our horizons to review our funding formula, as a key element of the new business model, so that we are able to unlock and create value for our stakeholders as well as ensuring organisational sustainability,” said Maluleke. 

Denis Joseph, member of the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture at Parliament, said: “The importance of partnerships was clearly articulated by the myriad of stakeholders who engaged meaningfully, all committed to contributing to the sustainability of RIM.

“Benchmarking RIM against other similar tourism entities was also incredibly useful in taking lessons from each other. For me, the maintenance of the ailing infrastructure is a major challenge, but I believe that meaningful partnerships with the broader stakeholders can significantly contribute to progress in this regard. At the end of the day, we want to see RIM to be more accessible to local people, both from an economic and from a geographic perspective.”