Here’s the real problem with the proposed R22m flag

A week ago, South Africans were in uproar over a proposed flag project by the national department of sports, arts and culture that was to cost taxpayers an estimated R22m.

The glow-in-the-dark flag, to be mounted on a 100m flagpole, was to be erected at Freedom Park in Tshwane.

Freedom Park is a cultural institution housing a museum and a memorial dedicated to chronicling and honouring the many who contributed to SA’s liberation.

The museum aims to preserve and narrate the story of the African continent, and specifically SA, from the dawn of humanity, through pre-colonial, colonial and apartheid history and heritage, to the postapartheid nation of today.

Parliament’s portfolio committee on sports said the department reported that R1.7m had been spent on geotechnical studies so far.

Amid the backlash over the initiative, President Cyril Ramaphosa instructed arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa to cancel the contentious project.

Mthethwa had initially defended the project, arguing its aim was to promote patriotism and education about the significance of the national flag.

The backlash over the flag was mainly centred on “exorbitant” expenditure on what many deem nothing more than a vanity project.

Many argued the money should be spent on more pressing matters such as poverty alleviation.

While I can appreciate this sentiment, the reality is that every department in government has a specific function it performs.

The function of the department of sports, arts and culture is not poverty alleviation, but, among other things, the preservation of our cultural heritage.

It is my opinion that South Africans don’t understand how government expenditure works.

Part of the reason for this is that the participatory aspect of our participatory democracy is extremely weak, owing to structural challenges such as the systematic exclusion of poor communities, in particular, from processes of legislative and fiscal public engagement.

Having worked in both national and local government, I have experienced first-hand how little our people actually participate in processes such as integrated development planning (IDP) and budget processes.

There is no doubt that these public participation processes are flawed.

For one thing, the time given for the public to table comments on the fiscal framework and to prepare presentations to financial committees is extremely limited.

Therefore, for me, the problem is not that the money is not being used to fight poverty, it is that the department does not understand that cultural heritage is not only about monuments and historical figures, it is also about the living.

The Covid-19 pandemic decimated the national economy and led to massive job losses.

Artists were on the receiving end of this onslaught.

In the City of Ekurhuleni, the former executive mayor established a central food bank to provide food parcels to those who has lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

Artists were one of the designated groups for the food aid.

This is how dire the situation has been for artists.

It would thus be more sensible to spend R22m supporting the works of community-based organisations in the creative industry, thereby supporting living monuments of our heritage and culture.

These artists could have been commissioned to do work aligned to the objective of promoting patriotism and educating communities about the flag, as this would have a more concrete impact on the preservation of heritage than the mere erecting of a flagpole.

There are many cultural monuments that have been damaged and destroyed precisely because communities don’t have adequate education on their significance and value.

Once such monument is the Robert Sobukwe Centre in Galeshewe, Kimberley.

The last time I visited it, it was being used as a hangout spot by drug addicts.

This lack of patriotism emanates from a lack of knowledge about our heritage.

This is where the department of sports, arts and culture should be making a great investment, using local artists.

From where I sit, a R22m flag is just not a priority.