Heritage Governance in Post-Colonial Africa

Abstract

This chapter takes its lead from on-going discourse of heritage governance in post-colonial Africa, with heritage viewed mainly as a product of state authority and political power. Heritage governance by its authoritarian nature and command for formalisation of protection of heritage resources underpins a set of guiding ideas and conditions for conservation management through statutory acts of policy, legislation and practice. Inevitably the formalisation of heritage management through policy and legal instruments highlights the extent of ‘authorised heritage discourse’ inherent in the governance of heritage.In post-colonial Africa, systems of governing heritage still draw largely on out-dated colonial experiences and influences, which is evident in lack of policy reforms and untransformed practices of conservation management. A scrutiny of the current heritage regimes illustrates the perpetuation of colonial and Eurocentric experiences in the governance of heritage in post-colonial Africa. Simultaneously, the recent and on-going configurations in heritage governance have seen the upsurge of ‘local community’ claims and rights to access and use of heritage. This is in line with the developmental agenda of most post-colonial African states, which advocates for public participation and beneficiation. The heritage sector is not immune or exempted to response to developmental needs and material conditions affecting ‘local community’ and the public.