The City of Cape Town and Western Cape government have plans to honour former president Nelson Mandela.

Using R4,8 million to fund both a statue (at R3,5 million) and an exhibition hosted in City Hall, the process will attempt to use public participation for the matter.

Naming and nomination committee chair, councillor Brett Herron, said on Monday that:

The purpose of the public participation process is to engage with our residents about the intended memorialisation of Madiba at City Hall.

We want to work more closely with our residents, and an important aspect of strengthening the relationship between the City and Capetonians is for our residents to participate in matters that affect them and which they feel strongly about.

Sure.

The idea is to install a statue of Madiba on the balcony at the City Hall where Mandela delivered his first public address, following his released from the then Victor Verster Prison (now Drakenstein Correctional Centre) on February 11, 1990.

Below the balcony, almost 50 000 South Africans gathered on the Grand Parade to celebrate his release from prison after 27 years and hear him speak.

The exhibition proposed would be a permanent one, “consisting of interpretive panels, audio-visual equipment and interactive displays, to commemorate Mandela’s legacy,” Herron added:

The Western Cape government has budgeted approximately R3.5m for the funding of the memorial and the City approximately R1.3m for the operational costs, inclusive of the ongoing maintenance of the exhibition and statue.

Of course, as Western Cape economic opportunities chair Alan Winde pointed out, Mandela’s journey, after his release from the then Victor Verster Prison to the City Hall, is of important historical significance, but also a great way to use the City Hall space and attract tourist’s attention:

Through leveraging this unique heritage, we can build an attraction which will draw visitors to our region and spread Madiba’s message of tolerance.

It is important that residents of the province have a say in how we honour Madiba, and I would like to encourage everyone to share their views during the public participation process.

The proposal has opened a few wounds, however.

The apparent mismanagement of public funds by both the City of Cape Town, and Western Cape government on certain occasions, has resulted in angry reactions from people who have been asking for various basic community improvements for decades.

From Twitter, a few examples:

Madiba is of course the significant figure in the history of South Africa, but to honour him with a statue in a time when so many more important issues need addressing seems a little ironic.

Between this, Tafelberg and the Muizenberg precinct, the CoCT’s agenda is starting to become alarmingly clear.

[source:citizen&news24]