Johannesburg – The liquidators of Nelson Mandela’s Soweto home, after months of uncertainty, have advertised a tender for organisations to take over the running of the museum.
The 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, house was placed under the control of joint liquidators Allan Pellow, of Mazars Recovery and Restructuring, and Michael Moloto, of Bahlanka Business Solutions and Administrators, after the holding company, the Soweto Heritage Trust, was liquidated.
The house, which was first owned by Mandela and his first wife Evelyn and then Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was sold to the Soweto Heritage Company, which belongs to the Soweto Heritage Trust.
The trust was founded in 1998 by Mandela and other people with a special focus on social and cultural causes.
Pellow and Moloto were appointed joint liquidators of the company by the Master of the High Court in Johannesburg in February 2017.
This after the company did not have an active board of directors and became dysfunctional and could no longer run the house.
The company was wound up in December 2016.
The museum, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Soweto, has been run by the Apartheid Museum for the past 10 years.
While staff at the museum were worried about job cuts amid the liquidation, they are still employed and receiving their salaries as the trust is still in good financial standing.
In an advert, the joint liquidators said: “We advise that Messrs Pellow and Moloto are inviting organisations who have an interest in and possess the necessary expertise and resources to oversee the running of Mandela House and all related operations as a public visitor attraction, heritage site and museum to respond to an Expression of Interest.”
They said the expression of interest would be “on a non-commercial basis and proposals will need to demonstrate a sustainable self-funding model”.
The advert further said that the joint liquidators’ aim was to “transfer ownership of Mandela House to an identified organisation or to another fit-for-purpose entity, in existence or to be formed, which will promote and sustain the original vision and objectives upon which the Trust was founded.
“Central to Messrs Pellow and Moloto’s decision-making is the preservation of the integrity of Mandela House as an important South African heritage asset, and to ensure that any change in ownership is properly managed and mitigated and that its cultural significance is conserved and managed sustainably.”
A briefing session will be held at the house on January 18. Applications to take over the running close on January 29.
The Star