The National Heritage Council started the process to prepare a dossier on the Union Buildings in order to include it on the tentative list for consideration as a World Heritage Site. They work hand in hand with the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs, responsible for co-operation with UNESCO (and the World Heritage Committee). Mr. Albi Modise is the responsible official in the department.

The chair has indicated that this was only the first meeting with relevant stakeholders and that several other meetings will be called in due time.  Any person who would like to become part of the “think tank” should forward their email in order to obtain an invite to the next meeting.

Although the attendees supported the idea of having the Union Buildings on South Africa’s list of declared world heritage sites, several concerns were raised that would need to be addressed before submitting it to WHC:

1. All world heritage sites are and should be accessible for those who want to visit it.  As the Union Buildings houses the President and Vice President’s offices, this issue would need to be addressed and workable solutions would need to be found.
2. Currently the gardens at the Union Buildings are closed for the public.  
3. All safety requirements in and around the area should be met.
4. The sustainability of the site should be guaranteed to avoid a possible de-listing of the site at any stage in the future should it fail to keep up with all the regulations regarding the preservation of World Heritage Sites.
5. The current squatting of the small Khoi group on the grounds of the Union Buildings should be resolved and measures should be in place to ensure that a similar situation will not occur in future.

It was suggested that a visitors centre might be erected in the gardens or created at an appropriate area inside the Union Buildings where visitors can obtain more information regarding the site, but also watch a video on the history of the Union Buildings and historic events that took place (e.g. the inauguration of president Nelson Mandela).

During the search on the website of DFFE regarding UNESCO World Heritage the following information (as uploaded in August 2022) was found:

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has published a revised South African tentative list for consideration and inscription on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage List.

South Africa’s tentative listing updating and revision process was last undertaken in 2015. Since then, the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains and Khomani Cultural Landscape were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

The second revision of sites on the tentative list was undertaken in 2021/22 financial year with the assistance of the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF). During the consultations that included the South African World Heritage Convention Committee (SAWHCC), Departments of Sport, Arts and Culture, and International Relations and Cooperation, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), African Heritage experts from Zambia and Botswana, and UNESCO Advisory Bodies, three new proposals and five existing sites were considered.

Three (3) new proposals received included; Bushman’s Kloof Rock Painting Landscape (Western Cape) (cultural site), Phoenix Settlement (KwaZulu-Natal) (cultural site) and Rhodes Building (Eastern Cape) (cultural site). Other Proposals received were for the sites that are already on the tentative list.

Following consideration of all supporting information on the potential of these sites to be considered of outstanding universal value, only two of the seven were accepted for inclusion on the tentative list.

The Human Rights Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites and The Emergence of Modern Humans: The Pleistocene occupation sites of South Africa have been retained on the South African tentative list and submitted to UNESCO for consideration.

The submission of the tentative list to UNESCO is the start of the process that will result in a final decision by the World Heritage Committee at its next meetings.

This is an indication that the process to prepare a dossier on the Union Buildings for possible listing is still in a very early stage. 

Prepared by Joan de Villiers - OPERRA committee member for Heritage