Johannesburg - The proposal to declare murdered AWB leader Eugene Terre'Blanche's house a heritage site was “non-procedural”, the National Heritage Council (NHC) said on Wednesday.
The proposal was reportedly announced by North West heritage council leader Themba Gwabeni.
“It is unfortunate that Mr Gwabeni made the public statement knowing that it is non-procedural,” the national council said in a statement.
“He knows or is expected to know that there is a prescribed process that is guided by law which he should have followed in proposing the heritage site.”
The NHC said it had approached Gwabeni and asked him to follow the process set out in the National Heritage Resources Act.
The Sowetan newspaper reported on Monday that the proposal was rejected at a meeting of the North West heritage council. It was announced by Gwabeni, who said Terre'Blanche and his party were part of South Africa's history.
The NHC on Wednesday said an application had to be made to the SA Heritage Resources Agency. It would be considered if it met the requirements, which were mainly whether the site had any historic significance and whether there had been sufficient consultation.
“There is no basis for the NHC to support the proposal without a proper procedure being followed by an applicant.
“At the moment, the public statement of Mr Gwabeni has no bearing on whether the property of Terre'Blanche qualifies to be declared as one of the country's heritage assets,” it said.
The NHC said there were no heritage councils in provinces, but provincial heritage resource authorities, of which Gwabeni was a member in North West.
Terre'Blanche, who opposed racial integration, was convicted in 1997 of the attempted murder of a security guard and the assault of a petrol station attendant. He spent three years in jail. Chris Mahlangu, one of his farmworkers, beat him to death on April 3, 2010.
Sapa