The NW government and opposition parties are at loggerheads about the ‘R6 million’ Zuma statue that Premier Supra Mahumapelo said would be erected at Groot Marico near Zeerust.
President Jacob Zuma
Photo: Selogile Leshage
‘The benefits of this statue from a historical perspective are monumental in that, through this statue, our children will know the selflessness of our struggle icons and the role they played in defeating apartheid and ushering in a democratic order,’ says the premier’s spokesperson, Brian Setswambung.
Read President Jacob Zuma’s bio
He added that the statue will serve as a tourist attraction for people visiting landmarks with significance in the province. He says the 6 m indicated in the tender advertisement should not be construed by the media as R6 million but rather as 6 metres, the size of the statue.
‘The Jacob Zuma capture site is a historical site where the current president of South Africa was arrested in August 1963. The site will become a heritage facility which will include cultural activities such as craftwork, a collection of local people’s material culture, oral history research and community cultural activities,’ he said.
Also read: Zuma defends his monument to corruption
The Democratic Alliance hits back
The DA says the ANC government would rather build a statue of Zuma than deliver water to the Lehurutshe community.
Photo: Selogile Leshage
Joe McGluwa, the Democratic Alliance NW leader said it is a disgraceful waste of public money that will leave us with nothing more than a monument to corruption and unemployment.
‘To the people of Gopane, Zeerust, a statue of Jacob Zuma will go nowhere to solve their critical need for services, as water supply fails daily, waste water treatment plants lie unusable and broken, and the inhumane bucket system still plagues our people.
‘Supra Mahumapelo’s priorities are clearly disturbingly skewed to praise Jacob Zuma rather than to deliver to the people,’ he said.
McGluwa says the ‘DA will soon announce further action against this unwarranted waste of public money’.
Also read: DA shocked about R6 million statue of Zuma in NW
Nicolize van der Walt, DA NW spokesperson, says ‘our campaign against this monument to corruption will keep unfolding. Watch this space at the State of the Province and, subsequently, where we will make sure this issue is properly raised.
‘The DA will also use our weight in the Legislature to keep pressing for this ridiculous waste of public money to be stopped,’ she said.
In his address this week, the premier remained unfazed by the DA and says he is not backing down on the Zuma statue and it is going to be erected. He also said there is no coalition, the ANC is the majority in government and they have taken a decision and will follow the necessary procurement processes to have a historical site for Jacob Zuma.
Also Read: ‘Zuma statue will be Nkandla of NW’ – DA
Michal Groenewald, Provincial deputy of the FF Plus added:
The North West Premier, Mr. Supra Mahumapelo, will have to answer about where the money will come from to fund the building of the Zuma statue and it must be fair to the taxpayers. The FF Plus is of the opinion that it is a huge waste of money that could be better spent on service delivery.
Great Marico suffers from poor service delivery therefore Mr. Mahumapelo should use the money earmarked for the statue to deliver before he wastes taxpayers’ money to try and improve the ANC’s reputation.
“I challenge Mr. Mahumapelo to rather use ANC funds to erect the statue and see if the provincial ANC members will allow it,” said Groenewald.
He said statues are erected in honour of people that have already died and have contributed to South Africa’s progress. Mr. Zuma has not contributed anything as president to the country. The premier must show more integrity than Zuma, he must act in the interests of the province’s people rather than put their political party before the people.
