Owela Museum reduced to rundown homeless shelter
The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture has blamed the dilapidated state of the Owela National Museum in Windhoek on funding constraints.
The heritage and cultural facility offered visitors the opportunity to study the weapons and tools used for hunting and warfare by the Nama and Ovaherero, as well as their musical instruments and other items related to traditional music and dance.
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Executive director of the culture ministry Sanet Steenkamp says the museum has been closed for renovations, which are a priority for the ministry. However, she says competing funding priorities are a challenge.
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Meanwhile, some of Windhoek's homeless have turned the museum into a shelter, while the facility has become a hang-out spot for loiterers. Even the rhino sculpture by French artist Gé Pellini has fallen to the ground, and has remained there for a considerable period of time.
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“We closed it because we had constant engagements with the homeless people who are putting up structures there and our engagement with the Namibian Police is a constant raid on the people who live there. So, until we can renovate it and have proper infrastructure, we can preserve and promote our heritage.
“It is an unbearable situation that we have to deal with,” said Steenkamp.
Those living at the museum are mostly car-washers and homeless people who eking out a living around the Windhoek Magistrate's Court and High Court, and retire to the museum at night.
“The ministry is aware of the current structural inadequacies... and the urgent need for their renovation. However, there are various challenges that cause delays to the renovation of these heritage sites.
“The ministry recognises the importance of arts and cultural heritage sites and their economic potential, hence the allocation of N$64 408 950 to cultural service in the 2023/2024 financial year.
“Regrettably, due to competing needs, the resources are not always adequate to cater for all our needs at the same time. We will, as we have done before, continue to engage and appeal to all relevant stakeholders and education partners to financially support us in this endeavor”.
The building, inaugurated in 1958, houses the Owela Museum and two display centres of the National Museum of Namibia, and has become an eyesore and fallen into neglect.
The situation is similar to the building of College of the Arts. The ministry is fully aware of the fact that these buildings require major rehabilitation. Most of the structural and electrical material used at the time are outdated and no longer available, meaning that the entire structure might have to be redone,” she said.
Steenkamp said in seeking a long lasting solution, the ministry will register the project with the National Planning Commission for funding.
“This involves a costly process which requires the service of a professional consultant to do a feasibility study. In addition, the works ministry is involved in assisting with drawing up the bill of quantities, as well as minor repairs and maintenance works until a permanent solution is found,” said Steenkamp.
Both the Owela Museum and the Alte Feste in Windhoek are closed to the public, however, renovations to the latter kicked off after the ministry entered a 10-year agreement with Namibia Arts, Craft and Design (NACD), which manages the Craft Centre, to establish and maintain an arts, crafts and heritage centre of excellence at the Alte Feste.
The museum exhibited cultural artefacts showcasing the cultural differences of Namibia's indigenous people before colonization, as well as a natural history museum.
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