Lindiwe Sisulu insists ANC holds lekgotla on Robben Island to connect with SA’s history
Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said that members of the governing party should hold a lekgotla on Robben Island.
According to Sisulu, this will help them remember the sacrifices made by anti-apartheid activists who devoted their lives to bring about change in South Africa.
“I would like members of the ANC [African National Congress] to find space to come and have a lekgotla here so that they have at the back of their minds what was given to them… that they hold the ANC sacred and safe and going forward and all the values of the people who were here making these sacrifices…”
The minister visited Robben Island on Monday as part of an initiative to boost visitor numbers to the heritage site.
Sisulu said she doesn’t think this has been central to discussions in the ANC.
“I would like to invite the ANC here for a lekgotla to engage with exactly what has happened in this country, right from the time of slavery when little children were kidnapped to come and work in this place… it’s just a house of horror and we should have it at the back of our minds with every decision we take, with every step we take.”
MEDIA STATEMENT: TOURISM MINISTER LINDIWE SISULU ON A WORK VISIT TO ROBBEN ISLAND pic.twitter.com/AzX4lMcdMy
— Dept of Tourism (@Tourism_gov_za) February 11, 2023
ROBBEN ISLAND DIESEL
The Robben Island Museum looks to further reduce the use of diesel for electricity generation at the heritage site.
A solar plant at the heritage site provides around 40% of the site’s power demands.
On average, Robben Island uses around 34,000 liters of diesel monthly for both power generation and other operations such as its ferries and busses.
This comes at an average cost of more or less R550,000 per month.
Robben Island chief infrastructure officer Maphootla Makhoalibe said they’re aiming to cut back on the volume of diesel used for energy generation.
“We are busy now looking for funding from various internal stakeholders, Department of Sport, Arts and Culture is one of them… there’s a plan, in theory, they have agreed for us to reprioritise some of our grant to augment the current state of the power plant,” he said.
Makhoablibe said when the solar plant operates at full capacity, it can provide approximately 40% of Robben Island’s total energy requirement.
This translates to an annual saving of more than R2.5 million.
“It’s very effective because once we augment the storage capacity it will almost assist us in reducing consumption of diesel to almost 5%,” explained Makhoalibe.
Since the commissioning of the system in December 2017, Robben Island Museum has reported an average annual saving of 42% in diesel purchases.
VISIT TO ROBBEN ISLAND
A walkabout in Robbert Sobukwe’s House in Robben Island – this is the house where he was kept isolated from the rest of the prisoners.#WeDoTourism pic.twitter.com/i9iXBFyyhm
— Lindiwe Sisulu (@LindiweSisuluSA) February 13, 2023
The intention is also to revive the island into a historical site that should constantly remind us that never again shall this beautiful land experience the pain of injustice.
— Lindiwe Sisulu (@LindiweSisuluSA) January 31, 2023
-EWN
In other news – ‘We want a baby’: A look into Nadia Nakai and AKA’s last moments together
Mzansi female rapper Nadia Nakai has been a concern of the country as she has recently experienced one of the most tragic losses. Over the two years of being alleged and later confirmed that she was in a relationship with male rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, Nadia has had to bid farewell to her lovers, as it was reported earlier in the week:
It is a sad day in South Africa following the events of Friday, 10 February 2023. This is as the country has lost rapper and Hip-Hop legend, Kiernan “AKA” Forbes at the age of 35 years old. Learn More
