MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

The Forgotten Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance

By

Dear Editor

Following an oversight visit to the Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance in Hankey, Eastern Cape, the DA is appalled by the state of the centre. Despite ten years of construction, three different contractors and R247.3 million, the centre remains nowhere near completion.

The manner in which this project has been executed displays a complete disregard for the people of Hankey and the legacies of Khoe, San, and Coloured people that it seeks to honour. In the case of Hankey, the centre promised job creation, reduced inequality, and social cohesion—none of which has been realised. The contractors have employed security guards from outside Hankey to protect the site.

There is clearly no political will to complete the centre and to do justice to the legacy of Sarah Baartman. Contractors have been paid for services rendered despite shoddy workmanship being the order of the day. This brings into question the integrity of those auditing and approving payments for poor workmanship.

Furthermore, the local Khoe community has not been extensively consulted in the completion of the centre as initially promised. No clearer example of this exists than the removal of significant stones from the burial site. This act reflects a deeper negligence being shown towards Khoe, San and Coloured history.

The DA once again reiterates our call for a forensic audit on the financials of the centre, proper consequence management for financial negligence and a cleansing ceremony led by the local Khoe community.

Regards

Liam Jacobs MP
DA Deputy Spokesperson on Sport, Arts and Culture

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Port Elizabethan

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