
Statue of Cecil Rhodes, a prominent political figure and former Prime Minister of the Cape Colony in South Africa.
Photo by: Edwin Remsberg / VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.
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Statue of Cecil Rhodes, a prominent political figure and former Prime Minister of the Cape Colony in South Africa.
This past Heritage Day, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that monuments 'glorifying' the country's 'divisive past' should be repositioned and relocated.
READ: Statue of Colonialist Cecil John Rhodes Found Beheaded
Putting his full weight behind an ongoing campaign to have statues of pro-Apartheid individuals removed, President Ramaphosa said:
"This has generated controversy, with some saying we are trying to erase our history. Building a truly non-racial society means being sensitive to the lived experiences of all this country's people. We make no apologies for this because our objective is to build a united nation."
Additionally, the head-of-state also declared that certain towns and cities would be renamed and that new statues and monuments would be erected to honour those who had fought against the segregationist regime.
According to BusinessTech, some of the suggestions include renaming East London to KuGompo, King William's Town to Qonce and The Berlin to Ntabozuko. The process to rename Cape Town International Airport has now 'reached the end' of its public response phase. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have especially fought for the airport to be named after anti-Apartheid veteran and activistWinnie Madikizela-Mandela.