Tata was fixed at no cost, the Mpumalanga MEC says.
The Mpumalanga legislature this week heard that the statue of former President Nelson Mandela outside it has now been fixed and this was done at no cost.
Arts and Culture MEC Thandi Shongwe was asked the question about the statue by the DA’s Bosman Grobler during a debate on Premier Refilwe Mtshweni’s State of the Province Address.
Grobler said that they have noticed “minor changes to the face of the statue of Nelson Mandela” and wanted to know at what cost the changes were made.
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He also asked whether the tender was advertised and required also the name of the company that was appointed.
Shongwe stood and told the house that they had done everything in their powers to make sure the stature is “fixed”.
“We went back to the same company that was appointed the statue and we told them to fix it,” said Shongwe.
“And there were other people who were complaining about the shoulder. We have fixed it also. And also those who were complaining about his shirt, they said he was not ironed and now we have ironed him,” Shongwe said on Tuesday.
The statue was erected on 28 September 2018 and was unveiled by both Mtshweni and Shongwe. It first caused a public outcry for its cost of R8.3 million in the face of poverty but soon afterwards attention shifted to the way it was designed.
Many people began saying the man in the statue didn’t look like Mandela.
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Shongwe said she worked with Mtshweni in making sure that “we address the deficiencies” on the statue.
The debate at the legislature was heated – with the opposition party accusing Mtshweni’s speech of not addressing the issue of corruption and youth unemployment.
The EFF and DA said her SOPA didn’t have the “how” her government intends to work in this financial and her programme of action for youth employment.
(edited by ZK)
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