President Zuma to open Biko centre

Friday, November 30, 2012

Ginsberg - The small town of Ginsberg, outside King Williamns Town in the Eastern Cape, is a hive of activity this morning - ahead of the official opening of the Steve Biko Heritage Centre by President Jacob Zuma. 

Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of locals have already gathered outside the venue with several streets leading to the centre closed to normal traffic. 

Officials say the centre, situated in Ginsberg, Biko's birth place, will serve as a legacy project to honour the late apartheid activist and black consciousness movement leader. 

It will feature as the cornerstone of the Biko Heritage Trail, a series of Biko related sites spanning from Port Elizabeth to King William's Town. 

A number of these sites, among them Biko's home in Ginsberg Township, the Biko Bridge in East London as well as a clinic, which Biko co-founded in the mid-1970's, have been declared national heritage sites. The centre has been designated by the Cabinet as a National Legacy Project. 

Zuma is expected to be joined by Arts and Culture minister Paul Mashatile, Eastern Cape Premier Noxolo Kiviet and several other top government officials. - SANews.gov.za