Talks between the Northern and Western Cape Provincial Governments to repatriate Northern Cape archival material from the Western Cape to Northern Cape have reached advanced stages. The two governments have agreed to repatriate digitised material to the Northern Cape by 08 May 2017. The material includes historic estate files dating back to the 1950s. They were stored in the Western Cape as the Northern Cape is one of the former apartheid Cape Provinces which were administered from the Western Cape.

According to schedule 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 as amended, the Provincial Archives is a functional area of exclusive Provincial Legislative competence.
The Northern Cape Provincial Archives was officially opened on the 24 January 2014 by the Premier of the Northern Cape Ms Sylvia Lucas.
The re- naming of the building to Khotso Flatela Archives Repository took place on the 24th April 2014.

Provincial Archives derives its mandate from the Northern Cape Provincial Archives Act No 7 of 2013.
The Provincial Archives also further plays a critical role in ensuring compliance with other relevant pieces of legislations in terms of Section 32, 33 and 41 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the Promotion of Access to Information Act .

Functions currently performed at the Khotso Flatela Archives Repository:

• Records Management in terms advising client offices on records management procedures that must be adhered to. Provincial Archives also plays an oversight role in terms of ensuring compliance with the Northern Cape Provincial Archives Act No 7 of 2013.
• Archives Management ie preservation of A20 records. These are records with enduring value and are permanently preserved at the Khotso Flatela Archives Repository. The A20 records are records that come to the repository  after 20 years and only than do the records get accessible to the public.
• Advocacy and Outreach. These include awareness programmes. Celebration of the National Archives Week which affords an opportunity for archivists and records managers to raise awareness on the importance of archives and records management.

 

Archives client offices are as follows:

• All Departments
• Ministries
• Municipalities
• Statutory Bodies
• Archives Management
• Advocacy and Outreach

A20 records currently preserved at the khotso flatela archives  repository:

• Council Minutes transferred by  Frances Baard Municipality dating back to 1957
• Council Minutes transferred by Sol Plaatje Municipality dating back to 1960
• Annual Plans, Annual Reports and some Hansard Transcripts  transferred by the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
• Estate Files dating back to 1957
• Illiquidation files - 1966
• Criminal Case Files
• Civil Case Files
• Dictabelts

 

NB: The Northern Cape Provincial Archives  Act No 7 of 2013 section 3 states the following:

The objectives and Functions of the Provincial Archives

(a) Preserve public and non- public records with enduring value for use by the public and the State
(b) Make such records accessible and promote their use by the public
(c) Ensure the proper management and care of all public records 
(d) Collect non public records with enduring value which cannot be preserved by another institution, with due regard to the need to document aspects of the Province's experience neglected by archives repositories in the past, We therefore encourage private donors to donate some of their A20 records for permanent preservation at the archives. Private donors will be allowed to put restrictions on the donated records if they wish to do so.

The Northern Cape Provincial Archives is a research institution for the people of Northern Cape.