President Cyril Ramaphosa has candidly told Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa to cancel the controversial flag pole project which would have cost a whopping R22-million.
Speaking at the Black Business Council gala dinner on Thursday, Ramaphosa told his audience that Mthethwa had called him to say South Africans are not happy.
Mthethwa told the president: “President, this flag thing, which is such a wonderful initiative, it seems our people are not happy with it.” He then asked for Ramaphosa’s advice on what to do. “Cancel this thing,” responded the president.
The government’s sharp U-turn, according to Ramaphosa, shows they are listening.
“It shows that we are a listening government. We listen to what our people say,” he said, noting that the project would be revisited.
On Thursday, Mthethwa said his department would review the project following widespread condemnation. “The diversity of voices around this important heritage project is a welcome celebration of our country’s vibrant constitutional democracy and the freedoms that must be upheld beyond posterity. It also bodes well for one of the pillars of social cohesion, which is an active citizenry,” he said.
Many people argued on social media that the money could be used to fund struggling sporting codes and to feed artists who suffered a major blow when Covid-19 regulations were introduced in 2020, crippling the entertainment industry.
One Movement SA leader Mmusi Maimane tweeted: “Corruption is not a joking matter. People can’t afford to buy cooking oil, they can’t afford fuel to go to work. The cost of living is choking households. R22-million for a flag, R5-million for hotel bills. That money should go to the people of SA.”
Your frustration, your pain is a joke to ANC leaders. pic.twitter.com/Q4LfvZ600t
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) May 20, 2022
Corruption is a not a joking matter.
People can’t afford to buy cooking oil, they can’t afford fuel to go to work. The cost of living is choking households.
R22 million for a flag, R5 million for hotel bills. That money should go to the people of SA.pic.twitter.com/Q4LfvZ600t
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) May 20, 2022
Also read: Controversial Flag project to be reviewed
Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s R22m flag project attracts widespread hatred
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