WATCH: North West premier isn’t backing down on Zuma statue
No apology is necessary for the erection of a statue of President Jacob Zuma, the premier of the North West says.
North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan / Veli Nhlapo)
The statue will be erected in Groot Marico and is the brainchild of North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo.
Mahumapelo is a member of the “Premier League” consisting of the provincial heads of Mpumalanga and Free State who are understood to support Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s bid for the ANC presidency.
North West has put out a tender calling for people to apply for being responsible for the erection of the statue. This has outraged the DA, who said this is the next Nkandla.
“The six-metre tall bronze statue of Jacob Zuma, which I have called a monument to corruption and unemployment, will be the Nkandla of the North West. The statue will be a multimillion-rand splurge of public money, to exult and deify Jacob Zuma, taking money from the public and leaving the people poorer,” said provincial leader Joe McGluwa.
“A statue of Jacob Zuma in Gopane is just as useless to the people of Gopane as Nkandla is to the people of KwaZulu-Natal. A statue of Jacob Zuma will chase tourists away, not attract them.”
Mahumapelo has responded, saying no apology was needed and the building of the statue would go ahead. He has compared the statue to how Nelson Mandela’s arrest was memorialised by the Nelson Mandela Capture Site artwork in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal.
Watch the video below
The responses to the video have been primarily negative, with many sharing the sentiment that the statue will be unnecessary and a waste of money.
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