Pretoria – The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has condemned the vandalism of the statue of former British monarch Queen Victoria.
“There is … no need for any individual or group to resort to vandalism, unlawfulness or hooliganism,” Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson Roland Williams said.
The statue, which stands in front of the main Nelson Mandela Bay library in the city centre, was vandalised on Friday morning.
“Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality wishes to emphasise that we live in a thriving democracy, complete with democratic structures of governance, democratic channels, systems and processes, through which any individual, group of individuals, political party, organisation, association or lobby group may solicit a specific decision or action from government,” Williams said.
He said should any individual strongly believe that this or any other statue should be moved, removed or relocated, that individual can communicate their request through the structures and channels of democracy.
“As a government that is premised on the will of the people, we will of course act in accordance with this will as expressed and channelled through the structures, systems and processes of governance and in accordance with the prevailing legislation and regulations.
“These are, of course, democratic times and there is no reason for anyone to break the law in a democratic state,” Williams said.
He said the vandalised statue of Queen Victoria will be cleaned by a specialised service provider within two weeks.
In the meantime, the statue will be covered by a canvass.
“The Municipality has stepped up patrolling and security around the various precincts of such monuments and statues.
“However, we will not be able to place guards on a 24 hour basis. This morning's incident happened during a break in the guarding of the statue,” Williams said.
The municipality has laid a charge with the South African Police Services. – SAnews.gov.za
