The Afrikanerbond on Wednesday welcomed the National African National Congress’s (ANC) stance against the damage to the Great Trek memorial in Standerton, Mpumalanga.
”The Afrikanerbond is heartened by ANC national spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama’s unequivocal message regarding the intentional destruction of the [Great Trek] memorial stone in Standerton by the mayor,” said Afrikanerbond spokesperson Jan Bosman in a statement.
This follows the ANC’s announcement that the damage to the memorial tablet at the Lekwa municipal offices in Standerton in Mpumalanga would be investigated at national level.
Ngonyama was quoted in a report as saying that the investigation was needed because the ANC did not intend destroying anybody’s history.
Bosman said the irresponsible and ill-judged actions of mayor Queen Radebe-Khumalo, blindly supported by the provincial ANC, created unnecessary tension that could have been avoided.
The Afrikanerbond said Ngonyama’s view that the ANC ”was not here to destroy anybody’s history” was welcomed.
”Although the mayor in her rash impulsiveness is grabbing at straws, like council decisions which apparently were not taken, and will probably not tender an apology for this blunder, the Afrikanerbond believes that reason will triumph,” said Bosman.
”Common sense will dictate that the municipal council will attempt to rectify the physical damage caused.”
The memorial was built for the 150th celebration of the Great Trek, in 1988, when 13 ox-wagons travelled through South Africa as part of the celebrations.
It consisted of a large concrete slab with the tracks of an ox wagon preserved in it.
The manager of the South African Heritage Resources Agency in Mpumalanga, Neo January, also indicated that the agency would investigate the matter immediately.
The Freedom Front Plus laid a formal complaint with the Commission for Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Language Rights after the memorial was damaged during attempts to remove it. — Sapa