KZN Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi hascalled for the installation of a statue of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi in eThekwini.
Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO / Independent Newspapers
THERE is no doubt that Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi played a major role in South Africa’s political history and in KZN’s story. His contributions should be recorded and honoured through the proper heritage, public participation and decision-making processes.
But at a time when many KZN municipalities are failing to deliver even the most basic services, a statue of the late IFP leader should not be the priority of KZN’s CoGTA MEC.
KZN’s CoGTA department exists to support, monitor and, where necessary, intervene within struggling municipalities. Yet communities across our province are living with sewage spills, water outages, crumbling roads, electricity failures, weak governance and financial mismanagement. Residents are not asking for more statues. They are asking for functioning municipalities.
The real tribute government should pay to KZN’s people is not another monument. It is clean governance, working infrastructure, accountability and dignity through reliable service delivery. MEC Buthelezi should focus less on symbolic politics and more on the crisis within local government, one that continues to undermine the lives of KZN's people, particularly its most vulnerable communities.
MARLAINE NAIR, MPL
DA KZN Spokesperson on CoGTA