DA MP Tsepo Mhlongo says a petition submitted to parliament can stop the R22m flag monument project from going ahead.
He said the petition with 500 or more signatures can help stop minister of sports, arts and culture Nathi Mthethwa from forging ahead with the plan to build the 100m flagpole at Freedom Park heritage site in Pretoria.
By 7pm on Wednesday, a petition titled Stop Purchase of R22m South African Flag on change.org had been signed by more than 25,000 people..
There have been growing calls for Mthethwa to be recalled. The minister defended the plan in parliament on Tuesday, saying SA was memorialising its democracy, adding that the monument flag would teach people about the country's democracy and how it got there.
His department also presented a feasibility study that cost the department nearly R2m.
Those who signed the petition want Mthethwa to prioritise poor people and the creative arts sector that has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mhlongo said: “I support the petition and the people who signed it. A petition is one of the parliament procedures used to voice dissatisfaction. It only requires 500 or more signatures. It will then be submitted to the right channels in parliament until it gets to the speaker and be discussed. It is the only way to stop Nathi Mthethwa and his R22m flag.”
According to Daily Maverick, Mhlongo asked who had conducted the feasibility study and how much was paid for it.
Deputy director-general for heritage promotion and preservation, Vusithemba Ndima, said the study was carried out by Delta Built Environment Consultants and they were paid about R1.7m.
President of the South African Roadies Association Freddie Nyathela said: “The arts industry is still closed, artists are dying of depression and wasting a R22m on a flag makes them even more depressed. The only way we can stop this is by making more noise and the right people will listen.”
I’m4theArts national secretary Thami ka Mbongo said: “It does not make sense that the department and minister Nathi Mthethwa plan to invest on a flag when the industry is still closed. The idea is not bad but it is the timing and priorities that are wrong. [What] is urgent is to open the industry.”
EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said: “Nathi Mthethwa and his colleagues have resolved to embark on a multimillion rand project of piercing a stick to the ground and attaching a flag to it ... [it's] is a complete lack of imagination.”
Mpho Ntlatleng, the founder of OI Afrika Media Foundation based in Braamfotein, Johannesburg, said Mthethwa must be recalled.
“At the end of the day, artists were not even paid relief funds and now the minister wants to take R22m and pay for a flag, [it] is angering. He says it will bring social cohesion, but will that feed hungry artists?” Ntlatleng asked.
FF Plus’ Heloïse Denner said people are struggling for food in KZN after the recent floods and that the flag matter showed that the department's priorities are completely wrong.
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