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Mashudu Netsianda Senior Reporter
THE National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) has resumed work on the re-construction of a pedestal on which the statue of the late Vice President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo will be erected.The gigantic statue would be erected at the intersection of 8th Avenue and Main Street in Bulawayo.
In an interview yesterday, the director of NMMZ, Dr Godfrey Mahachi said preparations for the erection of Dr Nkomo’s statue were on course.
“We have started work on the construction of a podium on which Dr Nkomo’s statue would be mounted. Other preparations have been taking place outside the site and right now our teams are working on site and we expect the project to be completed very soon.
“We have raised the height of the pedestal on which the statue would stand and once we are through, it will be erected,” he said.
Dr Mahachi said the statue is being kept at the Bulawayo History Museum.
He said the Government through NMMZ was working with the Bulawayo City Council to erect Dr Nkomo’s statue, in memory of the late nationalist’s works and contributions.
Dr Mahachi could not be drawn into divulging the amount set aside for the project. The Ministry of Public Works is on record as saying the project requires $400 000 for it to be completed.
“The whole purpose behind this project is to honour the late Vice President and celebrating his life as one of the pioneers of the liberation struggle,” said Dr Mahachi.
Efforts to contact the Nkomo family spokesperson, Mrs Thandiwe Ibrahim-Nkomo were fruitless as her mobile phone was not reachable.
The chairperson of the Bulawayo Residents Association (Bura), Mr Winos Dube commended the Government for resuming the project.
“We are really excited about the project and we hope that Government will speed up the process of erecting the statue and the renaming Main Street after the late Vice-President Dr Nkomo. The erection of Dr Nkomo’s statue was long overdue and to us it is an exciting development considering that Father Zimbabwe was a man of the people who certainly deserves all the honour for the role that he played in liberating our country from colonialism,” he said.
Dr Nkomo died on 1 July 1999 and the project to erect his statue between Main Street and 8th Avenue in Bulawayo has been met with obstacles.
Dr Nkomo’s statue has been mired in controversy after it was pulled down before its official unveiling in 2010 following strong objections from the Nkomo family and the Bulawayo community who felt the statue did not capture the exact attributes of Father Zimbabwe.
The project resumed again in July 2011 following a directive by the Zanu-PF Politburo to re-erect the statue. In November, the project was abandoned by the contractor after the Government reportedly ran out of funds.
In December 2011, the Government tried to speed up work on the project to enable President Mugabe to unveil it during the Zanu-PF conference.
Online Reporter