Order of the Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire, presented to Sir Alexander Bustamante in June 1967.

The recently opened Bustamante Museum, which houses a multimillion-dollar collection of memorabilia of National Hero and former Prime Minister Sir Alexander Bustamante, is not insured, The Gleaner has learnt.

Nora Strudwick, project manager at the Bustamante Museum, has revealed that the historic collection - which includes letters, photographs, regalia and other items, some on display for the first time - is at risk.

Lack of funding has also stymied adequate fire-prevention and security plans. There's only a single caretaker on the property.

"We would like to have a complete fire-prevention measure in place but there is no money to do so," she told The Gleaner.

Trying to offload debt

The Tucker Avenue, St Andrew, museum, which opened in February, is now working towards offloading debt owed to the Bustamante Foundation, which, through part sponsorship from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education Fund, started operations at the museum.

The Government has since proposed to assist with funding but that pledge has not been fleshed out, as the Labour administration is already grappling with the local fallout from a global recession. In the wake of job losses, depleted foreign-exchange earnings and public-sector workers bristling with anger after a unilateral wage freeze, cultural matters will not feature high on the Government's priority list.

Strudwick said plans to use entry fees to generate funds are also being hampered because of infrastructural flaws.

"The necessary conveniences are not in place to accommodate a group of persons to take a tour. We have the space to build bathrooms but there is no money to do it.

"We are also working on a wheelchair area that we can accommodate just about anyone," she advised.

The project manager added that as soon as the facilities are in place, the fees for adults would be hiked to $300, a 100 per cent increase.

However, measures are being taken to protect several other treasury buildings that also house important artefacts.

According to Brent Nations, director of corporate services at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), buildings such as the Seville Great House, which are under the JNHT portfolio, are insured.

Insured museums

Museums which are under the portfolio of the Institute of Jamaica are also insured. Delroy Edwards, assessment manager at the Institute of Jamaica, declared that fire-prevention measures are also intact.

Rose Hall Great House, a privately owned property in St James, is insured, said Beverly Gordon, manager of the site.

Economic challenges also affect daily operations but there are no plans to raise fees. She said a hike might mean more trouble for the institution as patronage might decline.

But the global meltdown has caused even the public institutions to be struggling to keep the doors open. Even with subsidies, officials said they had to depend on other funds to meet the needs of the institutions.

It cost the JNHT $4.5 million last year but only $500,000 came from the Government. Nations said funds generated from entrance fees and property leases were used to top up the public grant.

"The Government sent resources to the JNHT and, with what we get from other areas, we attempt to keep the places cleaned up and visitor-ready," stated Nations.

However, he said in order to restore the buildings, the organisation would have to resort to assistance from institutions such as the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

Grim survival

While unwilling to disclose how the newly crafted budget will affect the institution, Nations said, "We are affected in many areas but we have to try to do with what we have to the best of our ability," he argued.

Increasing fees at the properties is not a viable option, said Nations, as it would not improve revenue.

"It wouldn't materialise because when we double the fees, all we are going to have is fewer persons coming in. The only way to keep the business sustainable is to try to get more persons," he added.

It's no different at the Institute of Jamaica, which is dependent on assistance from overseas museum associations to bolster its financing.

"A budget is done yearly outlining needs of the institutions but the requested funds were not always granted, so we depend on the investments to support whatever shortfalls there are," stated Edwards.

He said that a revised figure for charges is expected to take effect soon.

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com