By Frederick Philander
WINDHOEK
Forty years on degradation and rust stepped into the roof of the National Arts Gallery, posing a permanent threat to valuable paintings and the general public attending exhibitions in the building.
Last month the staff of the gallery took it upon themselves to repair the roof at their own expense. Some 145 kilogrammes of putty was used to repair broken windows and parts of the roof.
“The ministry of Works, Transport and Communication was supposed to have repaired the outdated roof of the building in March this year, something that never happened. Hence, the staff and myself decided to do the job. We collectively worked on the roof and finished the work over one weekend. It shows what can be achieved if workers stand together,” said the director of the National Gallery, Joseph Madisia, when asked for comment.
It is general knowledge that the National Gallery accommodates the country’s national art collection, worth millions of dollars.
The institution was recently also broken into.
“We now feel safer and protected after we repaired the roof ourselves. We can now again operate as smoothly as possible without this constant threat hanging over everyone. It would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars had we not done the work ourselves,” said Madisia.
The building is the property of the ministry of Works, Transport and Communication.