Tag: Cape Town university

Mandela on Table Mountain?

The giant green carbuncle
The giant green carbuncle

If today were April 1 instead of August 1, a proposal for a 60m-high monument to Nelson Mandela plastered on to the sheer cliffs of Table Mountain in Cape Town like a giant green carbuncle might be explicable and good for a laugh.

 But that idea is being punted, apparently seriously, by a Dutch design firm on behalf of an obscure Rotterdam-based organisation, “Mandela on the bike foundation”.

 Concept designs for the 12-storey sculpture that includes a restaurant, conference centre and exhibition area – all in the shape of Mandela’s face a-la-Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial in the US – were posted on a dedicated website last month, timed to coincide with Madiba’s birthday.

 The proposed monument honouring Madiba “will teach next generations about the man who gave his life for justice and show his heritage”, according to the design firm, WHIM Architecture.

 The project team says the size of the building “suits the visibility and accessibility on the mountain overlooking Cape Town and its coastline”, although the sheer cliffs shown in most of their drawings do not appear to belong to Table Mountain.

 The designs were also posted on a Facebook site, and on Monday the project team reported that they’d received “a few comments/questions about our proposal” that they wanted to respond to.

 “We are thinking of a monument, that is highly visible within the city and shows the beauty of the existing city and its landscape… Of course we see the beauty of Table Mountain, and we respect this. Table Mountain should maintain its natural beauty. The sketch design is a first visualisation on how we think we can create something monumental for Nelson Mandela but also for Cape Town.

“The further development of the project should be done in close collaboration with the (local) government, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the inhabitants of Cape Town.”

Asked to comment, Table Mountain National Park manager Paddy Gordon said “I nearly fell off my chair” when seeing the images.

“As custodians of this international iconic site, we could not even begin to consider this proposal. In terms of the mountain’s legal status as a national park and World Natural Heritage Site, let alone its Natural Wonder of the World award, a development of such huge proportions would never be allowed.

“Though we agree that the nation owes a huge debt to Madiba and that we need to honour his contribution for generations to come, we hope to support a very different approach to achieve this. Besides, I’m convinced that Madiba himself would not wish for his beloved Table Mountain to be maimed in this way.”

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille replied diplomatically via her spokesman Solly Malatsi: “The city will weigh the merits of the proposal once we’ve seen it.”

There were mixed reactions on Facebook, with Judith Egberink commenting “nice!!” while Amanda van Zyl McCarthy wrote: “Table Mountain is NOT Mt Rushmore!….do not even think of messing up our mountain!” and Philip Zietsman said: “What a k*k idea! Shudder.”

Architect and design consultant Pierre Jordaan was short and sweet with his ironic response: “Nice … go f&*%k up your own mountain.” – IOL

Follow Mandela, says Hillary Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged South Africa to build on icon Nelson Mandela’s legacy and flex its growing influence on the global sticking points of Syria, Iran and Zimbabwe.

“The man who did so much to shape the history of a free South Africa has never stopped thinking about the future of South Africa,” she said in a speech at a Cape Town university.

“Because of your history, South Africa has an obligation to be a constructive force in the international community,” she added.

Washington’s top diplomat said strong African partners were needed to tackle the world’s challenges and urged the continent’s biggest economy to do more.

“There cannot be a strong global network unless there are strong African partners. Now I’ve often heard it said that African problems need African solutions. Well I’m here to say that some of our global problems need African solutions too,” said Clinton.

“And few nations on this continent can carry as much weight or be as effective partners and leaders as South Africa. You are a democratic power with the opportunity to influence Africa and the world.”

On her sixth stop of a continent-crossing mission, Clinton noted differences between Washington and Pretoria, particularly on recent conflicts in the Ivory Coast and Libya, but said this should not obscure common goals.

“We welcome South Africa’s support last week with the resolution at the UN General Assembly condemning Syria and the Assad regime’s brutal reign of terror,” she said.

“I hope this vote can be the foundation for a new level of cooperation.”

Clinton called on South Africa to lead efforts at the United Nations human rights council to protect global human rights.

“When old friends in power become corrupt and repressive, a decision by South Africa to stand on the side of freedom is not a sign that you are giving up on old allies, it’s a reminder to yourselves and the world that your values don’t stop at your borders.”

Drawing out neighbouring Zimbabwe, she urged leaders in the region to push for progress for new polls that will end a troubled power-sharing deal that pulled the country out of election chaos five years ago.

“Now the same leaders can help accelerate progress for finalising and adopting that constitution through a credible referendum and holding a free and fair election monitored by the international community,” she said.

“And if Zimbabwe’s leaders meet these commitments, the United States is prepared to match action for action.”

The US has insisted that Zimbabwe take more steps to curb political violence before agreeing to ease sanctions against veteran President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle.

In a speech that blended praise and encouragement, Clinton called on South Africa to use its “rare authority” as the first country to have voluntarily given up its nuclear weapons to discourage armaments.

“You can help ensure that any country that pursues nuclear weapons programmes will invite only more pressure and isolation,” she said.

“This means South Africa can play an even greater role on issues like curbing Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons from preventing nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists.”

Clinton reserved parts of her speech to pay homage to Mandela’s example of humanity by reaching out to his former apartheid jailers.

“That is the true legacy of president Mandela — calling all of us to complete the work he started. To overcome the obstacles, the injustices, the mistreatments that everyone, every one of us will encounter at some point in our lives.”

Earlier, she signed a new deal supporting efforts to fight AIDS in South Africa, which has the world’s biggest population of people with HIV.