SA Heritage Resources Agency says it needs clarity on its mandate
Amid a legal bid to prohibit the sale of items linked to former president Nelson Mandela, SAHRA says it needs to understand which objects it may regulate.
South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) logo. Picture: Facebook/ South African Heritage Resources Agency
JOHANNESBURG - The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) says clarity on its mandate is vital amid a legal bid to prohibit the sale of items linked to former president Nelson Mandela.
The agency has reiterated that the 30 items in question, including the key to Mandela’s prison cell are heritage objects exported illegally out of the country.
READ: Some 30 items linked to Nelson Mandela 'clearly of cultural significance' - SAHRA lawyers
In December 2023, the High Court in Pretoria dismissed a case to stop them from being auctioned, but the agency has now launched an application for leave to appeal, which was heard on Wednesday.
Agency counsel, Advocate Robin Pearse said the judgment handed down creates uncertainty around the characteristics of a heritage object.
“It is existentially vital for SAHRA that it understands which objects it may regulate. If it proceeds from this matter with the uncertainty that we submit inheres in paragraph 63, it will not know when an item constitutes a heritage object.”
Pearse also said the country needs clarity.
“It is a matter of significance and importance that the country understands how its estate is to be regulated by the statutory regulator.”