The project, which includes the erection of these statues, has already received an advance amounting to R28 million from the Department of Arts and Culture.
But trade union Solidarity has warned this project could only be a burden on the economy at a time when the people of South Africa could not afford it. According to Johan Kruger, spokesperson for Solidarity, the wastage of tax money on the project would be greatly detrimental to the economy. ‘The 700 million that is being spent on this extensive and extravagant project, despite the fact that a similar monument in the form of Freedom Park is located just a stone’s throw from the Fountains Valley Resort, will not solve today’s challenges and problems. Taking R700 million, which would have been used productively for the advancement of the country’s people, out of the economy for a project of this nature is absolutely not accountable behaviour on government’s side.’
