PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 10: Paul Kruger statue on Church Square on June 10, 2020 in Pretoria, South Africa. The statue was painted with red paint and the words killer painted on. It is reported that the death of George Floyd is leading to the removal by protesters in some cases and city leaders in others of contentious statues that have riled some residents for decades. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
EFF: ‘Towns, cities still named after those who murdered our grandparents’
EFF member Ringo Madlingozi said there are thousands of statues, celebrating the roles played by ‘murderous’ Dutch and British settlers.
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 10: Paul Kruger statue on Church Square on June 10, 2020 in Pretoria, South Africa. The statue was painted with red paint and the words killer painted on. It is reported that the death of George Floyd is leading to the removal by protesters in some cases and city leaders in others of contentious statues that have riled some residents for decades. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
During a National Assembly hybrid plenary sitting on Thursday 3 September, in which Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa produced a speech on the heritage landscape in the country, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member Ringo Madlingozi went ham on colonialist statues.
The EFF has long been advocating for the removal of colonialist statues in the country. On Friday 12 May, EFF leader Julius Malema took a stab at President Cyril Ramaphosa. He said he didn’t expect much from the president but nevertheless, encouraged him to follow the lead of other countries by removing colonial statues. This came after CBS News posted a video of a statue being removed after many years.
“New Zealand city takes down statue of a British navy commander accused of killing indigenous people in the 19th century,” the caption of the video read.
THOUSANDS OF STATUES CELEBRATING MURDEROUS SETTLERS – MADLINGOZI
Madlingozi asked what national heritage means when our country is still defined by colonialism and apartheid.
“In front of the very parliament [where] we are members of, there is an imposing statue of Louis Botha, a hero of the Dutch settlers who still believe that they were called by God to dominate and kill black people as and when they wished,” he said.
“He represents a heritage of a people who maimed and killed black people. Is he also part of the heritage we should be celebrating as a nation?” he added.
Madlingozi said there is also an “imposing” statue of Queen Victoria in Parliament, under whose leadership and guidance, resources were looted and people were killed.
Mthethwa, during his speech, said national and provincial governments are not custodians of most of these statues. Most of these statues are under the custodianship of the municipal authorities
“For a statue to be considered for repositioning or relocation, a consultancy process should be undertaken at a local government level, an application needs to be lodged with the relevant provincial heritage resources authority who will consider the application and take a decision on granting a permit after the required public consultation,” said Mthethwa.
If the statue is on a property that is declared a national heritage site, the responsible provincial heritage authority will submit the application to the South African heritage resources authority agency who will consider the application.
Mthethwa said the department is not in a position to engage in the relocation of colonialist and apartheid statues.
‘WE ARE CELEBRATING A FOREIGN HERITAGE’ – MADLINGOZI
Madlingozi said there are deeds of heroic proportions done by men and women whose names and deeds have been eroded from memory.
“We have assimilated to foreign cultures, and are celebrating foreign heritage, which was forced down our throws by the barrel of the gun,” he said.
“We have thousands of statues around the country, celebrating the roles played by murderous Dutch and British settlers in this country. We have towns and cities, still named after those who murder our grandparents,” he added.
Madlingozi said languages have also not been developed to the extent they should have.
“Even 26 years after the attainment of freedom, the languages of the British and Dutch settlers are still given preference. While our children are forced to imbibe written rubbish by whites which seek to sanitize our history. You, therefore, cannot speak about the transformation of the heritage landscape of this country without addressing all these issues minister,” he said.
