Plaque honouring troubled Saldanha mayor Marius Koen’s 'successful' term causes uproar

Cape Town - The unveiling of a monument, complete with memorial plaque, to mark the “successful” 5-year administration of controversial Saldanha Municipality mayor Marius Koen has boomeranged after a public outcry about the inappropriateness of the event.

Koen put out a statement on Thursday saying the construction of the monument, dubbed “A Beacon of Hope” at the town’s Hoedjieskop, museum was misconceived.

“The construction and unveiling of the Beacon of Hope along with the plaque to honour my five-year term in office was an initiative by some of my support staff, unbeknownst to me.

“I agree that dedicating this artwork to a public representative for whatever reason was an ill-conceived idea and as such the plaque was removed.

“The Beacon of Hope, however, plays an important role in paying homage to the fisher communities of the region and to the resilience of the residents of SBM in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequences thereof,” said Koen.

He said the beacon was constructed from recycled products and natural resources and no public funds were used.

August 18, the day of the unveiling, was marked with a ceremony with a guard of honour, composed of members of the municipality’s fire service and law enforcement officers.

On a video that was posted on the Saldanha Bay Municipality’s Facebook page, municipal communications officer Petra Mei made a speech welcoming the mayor to perform the unveiling.

She said: “The reason we are here this morning is that we are celebrating mayor Koen.

“We’re celebrating him as the first executive mayor under the new Saldanha Bay Municipality administration that has completed a five-year term successfully in office without any delay or replacement.”

Leader of the opposition (ANC) in the legislature, Cameron Dugmore said: “We are shocked by the decision by the council to erect a monument for mayor Koen.

“As far as we are concerned, there is nothing to celebrate about this mayor who we all know falsified his CV. We are still waiting for him to provide proof of his MBA qualification.

“We will write to the MEC of Local Government to institute an investigation of wasteful and fruitless expenditure and for him to take remedial action.”

He said the voters of Saldanha will remember this when they vote in the forthcoming local elections.

Good party secretary-general Brett Herron said: “Building or dedicating a monument to a mayor for serving full term is a gross abuse of office and a monumental abuse of public funds.

“It’s outrageous and embarrassing. To serve as a mayor is a privilege and a well paid one. It is not a favour to us. These are the kinds of stupid and self-absorbed things that happen when political parties feel incumbent forever.

“They are regardless of the voter because they think they’re there ‘til Jesus comes. It’s up to voters to show them who counts.”

Local government standing committee chairperson Derrick America, of the DA, said: “The DA has always advocated for the responsible use of taxpayers monies. I understand and welcome that the plaque has since been removed.”

Twitter users also reacted to the plaque:

For the achievement of doing his damn job…?! 🤣🤣🤣

Hayi, @Our_DA… just hand us a fish that we can applaud for swimming, once. https://t.co/7NPm3eva92
— Refilwe Moloto (@RefilWest) September 3, 2021

The DA is the party of participation trophies https://t.co/4NMcH0k5On
— CUMmunist ☭🇿🇦🇵🇸 (@TheLDPage) September 2, 2021

Talk about low standards - do I get a monument in my honour because I remembered to breathe yesterday? https://t.co/8mEqXOQwCN
— Paul Mason 🇿🇦🔞 (@PaulHMason) September 3, 2021