The NW government has defended its decision to build and erect Zuma’s statue in Groot Marico.
This is after the DA in the province criticised the province’s intention to build the R6 million statue of the president.
The premier’s spokesperson, Brian Setswambung, says the DA in the province has made it its task to slam government projects, irrespective of the value they add in advancing social cohesion like the Jacob Zuma statue, the tender of which was recently advertised in the Sunday papers.
‘The hatred that the DA harbours against President Zuma is so alarming that any project that seeks to rightfully honour the contribution of President Zuma in the struggle against apartheid is emotionally slammed as a waste of public funds,’ he said.
According to Setswambung, ‘it is important to remind the DA that the Department of Culture, Arts and Traditional Affairs has as one of its key responsibilities the preservation of our heritage and history’.
‘The decision to erect the Zuma statue did not start with the fifth administration. As a responsible government, the fifth administration took it upon itself to implement a decision taken prior to 2014.
‘It is an undeniable historical fact which posterity deserves to know that President Zuma was arrested by the brutal apartheid security forces at Groot Marico while on his way to Botswana.
‘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 Setswambung.
He added that the statue will also serve as a great tourist attraction to people visiting landmarks that have historical value in the province.
He further stated that Bokone Bophirima will not be deterred by the noise of the DA from executing its responsibilities to better the lives of the people.
‘Through the Department of Culture, Arts and Traditional Affairs, the provincial government will not be defocused from implementing the social cohesion project as well as to honour and celebrate the historic and heroic role played by many of our struggle icons such as President Zuma in dismantling apartheid.
Unlike the DA, the provincial government does not have selective amnesia and glaring political opportunism that seeks to deny our history. This project, like many other projects in the province, will create jobs for the people of Bokone Bophirima and those of Groot Marico in particular,’ he concluded.
