Durban - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not open the new Gandhi museum in Durban during his state visit over the weekend, as had been planned.
Gandhi’s granddaughter, Ela Gandhi, told the Daily News on Thursday the official opening by Modi had been cancelled for security reasons.
Gandhi, who is a member of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Museum Trust, said this was because the prime minister’s visit was so short and there had not been enough time to do a security check. She said because the museum, in Dr Goonam (Prince Edward) Street in the CBD, was surrounded by buildings, there were safety concerns.
Modi would be visiting the historic Gandhi settlement in Phoenix, which had received security clearance. But even there, Modi would not stay long because of his tight schedule, said Gandhi, who insisted the museum opening had not been canned because of administrative and financial bungling.
The Daily News reported last month that a funding row had stalled the completion of the high-profile project.
The museum, intended for the display of memorabilia representing Gandhi’s work in India and South Africa, was jointly funded by the Indian and KwaZulu-Natal governments, and its opening by Modi would have provided a valuable opportunity to underscore the close ties between the two countries.
The museum plans were developed by the trust set up to look after two properties donated to the then Natal Indian Congress by Mahatma Gandhi in 1913, before he left South Africa. The plans for a museum date back to 2009.
The Indian government had provided R1.25 million as initial funding for the project and the KZN government was to have released a similar amount, but said the trust had failed to supply documents necessary for the release of the grant money.
Gandhi said: “There have been so many reports about this being cancelled because of a bungle, but the committee understands the agreement was made so long ago the money could not just have been kept aside. Money for a financial year is spent in that financial year and the funds for the Museum will be rebudgeted. No one has said they are not going to pay.”
David Gengan, the deputy chairman of the Pietermaritzburg Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Committee, also confirmed to the Daily News that Modi would not be opening the museum.
Gengan said Modi would arrive in Pretoria on Thursday to meet President Jacob Zuma and fly to Durban tomorrow. He was expected at the Pietermaritzburg Railway Station on Saturday, where Gandhi sat overnight after being thrown off the train.
Afterwards, he will leave Pietermaritzburg for Mahatma Gandhi Phoenix settlement, where Gandhi established his home.
“After planting a tree he will then be handing over computers to the Phoenix Settlement Centre,” said Gengan.
The secretary of Indian High Commissioner Hitesh Rajpal said to eliminate speculation about Modi’s visit, finalisation of his programme was being avoided at this stage.
“Kindly wait for the visit, there will be full clarity. Taking a little bit of information from here and there may lead to misunderstanding and misinformation,” he said.
Daily News