R1k fee for Robben Island walking tour slammed: 'Our history remains imprisoned'

Presenter Amy MacIver chats to Tauriq Jenkins of the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council.

An indigenous group has criticised the Robben Island Museum for the pricing of its new walking tour experience

The tour is priced at R1,000 for South African adults and R620 for South African children aged two to 18 years

Non-South African adults must pay R1,400 and R820 for non-South African children aged two to 18

The Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council says the pricing model is totally inaccessible to local communities

UPDATE: We're open to feedback on pricing of new walking tour, says Robben Island Museum

The Robben Island Museum (RIM) has come under fire for the pricing of its new walking tour experience.

The walking tour, which was launched over two weeks ago, is an expansion of the current tour offerings on Robben Island.

South African adults will be charged R1,000 to enjoy the tour and R620 for South African children aged two to 18 years.

The tour is priced at R1,400 for non-South African adults and R820 for non-South African children aged two to 18.

The Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC) and the Ex-Political Prisoners Association have slammed RIM for the pricing model which they say is exclusionary for locals.

Tauriq Jenkins, the High Commissioner of the GKKITC, says the pricing denies local communities access to their own history.

He says the RIM did not facilitate any meaningful engagement with locals and other stakeholders on the pricing of the new tour offering.

Jenkins has criticised the RIM management for the comodificatiation of "a collective memory that belongs to all South Africans".

He says it's important to recognise the role that Robben Island plays in preserving and celebrating indigenous histories that have been erased in the past.

He says this rich heritage must be prioretised and safegaurded and access to the RIM heritage site must be decentralised and decolonised.

How are these prices in any way making it easy for people to access these important places?... To ask that amount of money from families who are reeling from this pandemic is not necessarily contributing to the healing of the nation.
Tauriq Jenkins, High Commissioner - Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council

The council's opinion is that the pricing model is totally inaccessible to local communities. I think what's egregious about it is that the island has a deeply significant historical footprint of resistance.
Tauriq Jenkins, High Commissioner - Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council

The island has a restorative role to play by encouraging descendant communities that are linked to the island to embrace these rich national legacies.
Tauriq Jenkins, High Commissioner - Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council

By charging these prohibitive prices it creates a situation where our history remains imprisoned, its access becomes elitist and distinctly tourist-orientated.
Tauriq Jenkins, High Commissioner - Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council