Conditions approved

Rooksana Omar, chief executive officer, Iziko Museums of South Africa

The article, “Historic old building becomes an eyesore” dated Thursday October refers.

The facts of the matter pertaining to the Iziko Old Town House are as follows:

The Iziko Old Town House Museum was closed due to the instability of a very old electrical installation which was dangerous to the public and the irreplaceable artworks housed therein.

The building was closed on December 31, 2015. The relevant applications for the electrical system to be completely overhauled were made.

At the same time, an application to conduct an investigation into its long term maintenance requirements and refurbishment was made to the relevant authority in the provincial government, as required by law.

Both processes, the electrical system replacement and refurbishment plan, were submitted with the appropriate investigation done by Iziko’s appointed architect and electrical engineer.

The provincial authority (Heritage Western Cape) requested further work/ investigations to be conducted which
were done as instructed and to the satisfaction
of Heritage Western Cape.

The results of the investigation have recently been approved with conditions that have to be met.

The Iziko Museums of South Africa are now in the process of appointing a project manager as directed by Heritage Western Cape to undertake the necessary renovations.

The Iziko Museums Council is aware of the condition of the building and have given their support for the upgrades.