Failure to conduct regular maintenance of the Robben Island heritage site has resulted in deteriorating infrastructure over the course of several years. The island now requires refurbishment and maintenance amounting to R250 million, a total of R112 million has already been spent towards maintenance.

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Residents of Robben Island rely on water supplied from Cape Town for their daily consumption, as the desalination plant on the island has been non-functional since February of this year.

During a recent site inspection on Thursday, 22 June 2023, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, was made aware of the inoperable desalination plant and identified several other structures on the island that require maintenance.

As reported by People’s Post, according to Avelino Rocha, the facilities manager for the department, fixing the plant has presented difficulties as the equipment cannot be locally produced.

‘Nothing is locally sourced; everything must be imported. We repair what is broken. As we repair the membrane, we see that the pump is faulty or the valve is rusted. These are all factors adding to the delay of (getting) the plant up and running.

‘We also have borehole pumps. The same service provider that we have here, they decant water to all the tourist spots with tanks and pumps. So there is water on the island but if you want to drink the water, you drink from the mainland,’ said Rocha.

Some of the upgrades to the island include the restoration of the Blue Stone Quarry Wall, a desalination plant upgrade, a diesel plant reticulation, a harbour precinct upgrade and a new floating jetty among other refurbishments and maintenance projects.

Efforts will also be made to address the concerns regarding the asbestos roofing.

‘We are going to continue going forward. The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has conducted an assessment on the issue of asbestos here. We have conducted that assessment and we will sit down with the relevant department and see whether we are able to repair the asbestos,’ said Zikalala.

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Professor Saths Cooper, Robben Island Museum chair said the island has the potential to be self-sustainable, it would, however, necessitate the collective involvement of all relevant government departments to collaborate on replacing, repairing, refurbishing and preserving its original feel and historical significance.

Cooper said, ‘Because we have a national heritage as well as a Unesco world heritage, which requires minimum criteria. Once those are met, and we trust those will be met within the next year, we believe the island will be fit for purpose as the true beacon of the life of this country.

‘There is not a part of southern Africa that doesn’t resonate with Robben Island. Our job is to ensure that our future generations can see the island in its pristine state so that we can never again return to the kind of dungeon and place of banishment that Robben Island was.’

‘Robben Island will be a showcase for all kinds of activities to celebrate that liberatory period that brought us democracy.

‘We are looking at a restoration that retains the authenticity of what it was to be a prisoner between 1963 and 1991. We don’t want to beautify the ugliness; we don’t want to beautify atrocity or torture. We want to retain it as part of our historical record, ‘ said Cooper.

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Picture: Charles O’Rear / Getty Images