Rhodri fund hits £80,000 milestone on road to statue tribute
THE Rhodri Morgan Statue Fund appeal has passed a major milestone by getting nearly two thirds of the way to its £125k target.
The campaign, which kicked off officially in January 2019 with the aim of erecting a statue to the late, much-loved First Minister in Cardiff Bay, now has £80,000 in the bank.
It continues to attract donations from as little as a few pounds – from a boy who saved up his pocket money – to larger donations from businesses and academia.
“We have attracted donations from a cross-section of Welsh society because people think it’s right we should mark Rhodri’s contribution to Welsh history and his place as the ‘Father of Devolution’,” said Cardiff councillor Dilwar Ali, a member of the fundraising committee.
“We have had support from many ethnic minority groups which Rhodri was a strong supporter of – and one boy even came up to me with a donation of a few pounds which he had saved up from his pocket money.”
Donations to the fund were boosted by a pre-Christmas fundraising dinner at City Hall which had cross-party political support as well as support from Wales’ universities, businesses and many others.
Cllr Ali said: “On behalf of the project committee we are grateful to the leader of Cardiff council, Cllr Huw Thomas, for his announcement that the council will waive the fee for maintenance – which otherwise would have added another £12,500 to the costs.
“We are still urging everyone to dig deep and continue donating. We welcome any donations large or small from companies, community groups or individuals.”
The statue will be sited opposite the Senedd where Rhodri served as First Minister from 2000 until 2009.
He died in May 2017. He has been described as funny, clever, engaging, a maverick politician and a father-figure of Welsh politics.
Before becoming an AM he served as MP for Cardiff West from 1987.