Overview

SAHRA is a statutory organisation established under the National Heritage Resources Act, No 25 of 1999, as the national administrative body responsible for the protection of South Africa’s cultural heritage.

The Act follows the principle that heritage resources should be managed by the levels of government closest to the community. These local and provincial authorities will manage heritage resources as part of their planning process.

In order to develop the skills and capacities of communities, heritage resource agencies will promote education and training to encourage public involvement in the identification of heritage resources, with the recording of living heritage associated with heritage and oral history a crucial element, because much of the past is undocumented.

We present this information about SAHRA in order to create an awareness among the people of our country of their right to conserve what they consider to be valuable heritage resources, the mechanisms for doing this, and to recognise the exciting new possibilities that the Act creates for them.

Who is SAHRA:

• Vision: An agency uniting people through heritage.
• Mission: A regulatory body that co-ordinates and promotes the management of South Africa’s heritage resources for community development and social wellbeing – for the benefit of present and future generations.
• Values:
• INTEGRITY AND HONESTY
• ACCOUNTABILITY AND PROFESSIONALISM
• OBJECTIVITY AND CONSISTENCY
• TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION
• UNITY OF PURPOSE
• Mandate: South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) is a statutory organisation established under the National Heritage Resources Act, No 25 of 1999, as the national administrative body responsible for the protection of South Africa’s cultural heritage. SAHRA, as an Agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked to manage and implement the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) of 1999.