Swapna Prabhakaran
A simple plan to build a museum on the land around the ruins of President Nelson Mandelas old school has mushroomed into an R80-million scheme involving six architectural firms and a series of elaborate structures.
Mandelas primary school in the Eastern Cape consisted of two rondavels and a hut in Qunu, a tiny rural village about 40km south of Umtata in the former Transkei. Mandela lived there in his youth, and has fond memories of the place.
Last year, the Departments of Public Works and of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology gave the green light to plans to erect a museum housing gifts the president has received from well-wishers all over the world. These include pictures from schoolchildren, items of art and jewellery, personal gifts from famous people and the Nobel Prize.
Architects have come up with a design which includes a craft centre and shop, a four- tier auditorium around a circular amphitheatre, a church, a community hall, several tarred parking lots and extensive gardens. Architects estimate the building may cost as much as R80-million.
In the rest of Qunu, residents live in mud huts with thatched roofs. The region has only recently been wired for electricity and the government hopes to install running water there by October.
But the siting of such a massive enterprise amid the mud huts of Qunu is not the only indication that plans for the museum are not sensitive to local conditions.
A disgruntled architect working on the project said local labour has not been taken into account. He added the building will require transportation of inappropriate and expensive building materials to the site.
The architect refused to be named, for fear of recrimination, but said: Architecturally, these plans fly in the face of local traditions and customs, even the local weather patterns … The president has a humble nature. This building does not match his personality. It has a Nazi-like feel.
He also said historians, artists and other interested creative talents should have been consulted during the planning process.
The elaborate designs for the museum were drawn up by a group of architectural firms which were awarded the contract by direct appointment from a Department of Public Works roster, in a move that has been slammed by some as old South African government tactics.
The department has been criticised for not opening the contract to competition. As a result, alternate and less costly design options for the building do not exist.
Public Works representative Zaid Nordien said there is nothing unusual about this procedure: It is normal to appoint consultants from a roster of known companies.
The rapid appointment was apparently intended to speed up the process, so that the plans could be presented to the president on his birthday. In the event, the plans missed the deadline by two months.
The appointment touted as a major black empowerment move has now been soured by rumours of favouritism. The chief director of architecture in the Department of Public Works, Khotso Moleko, left the department shortly before the contract was awarded and signed up with RFB Architects one of the six companies which won the contract.
Moleko said this week: [These allegations] are a surprise to me. The Department of Public Works didnt appoint me as an individual to work on this project. They appointed the firm.
Marne Groenewald, the Public Works official in charge of the project, is currently on leave and could not be reached for comment.
The plans will not be released for public scrutiny until the president has given his approval. Said Nordien: The presentation has been made to the president. He has seen the model. We are now waiting for his approval. Presidential representative Joel Netshitenzhe said Mandela has not yet made any official comment on the plans.
Leta Mosienyane, an architect at Osmond, Lange & Mosienyane, another of the contracted companies, explained the delay. The president, he said, wants to be the one who takes the plans to the chiefs in the area. He is doing this for his village. He is still a subject in his village; he has to ask the chief before we go ahead.