Arts and Culture Department to review R22m flag project
Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa ordered his department to review the controversial R22-million monumental flag project.
The decision follows a public outcry over the amount of money being spent on the project when most South Africans are suffering extreme economic hardship.
Department spokesperson Masechaba Khumalo says Mthethwa has taken note of the public criticism.
“The diversity of voices around this important heritage project are a welcome celebration of our country’s vibrant constitutional democracy and the freedoms that must be upheld beyond posterity. It also bodes well for one of the pillars of social cohesion which is an active citizenry.
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“In upholding this ethos and the inalienable rights of citizens to be heard, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture has directed his department to review the process related to the monumental flag in its totality.”
This is not the first time the Department of Arts and Culture has come under fire for its spending habits.
In 2021 the National Arts Council’s CEO and CFO were charged with corruption for the misappropriation of R300 million meant for artists and creatives at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown.
