The decision by the George municipality to grant permission for a concert by controversial Afrikaans performer Steve Hofmeyr has produced mixed reaction, with the ANC threatening to demonstrate outside the venue, while the DA applauded the municipality for making a “principled decision”.
The municipality initially withdrew its decision for a local school to host a fund-raising concert where Hofmeyr would perform, following an outcry from some community members and on social media.
However, the municipality made an about-turn and gave permission for the concert to be held at the George City Hall on Thursday.
George municipal manager Trevor Botha said the decision to withdraw permission had been reconsidered and the event would continue.
DA provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela said that while his party did not support or endorse Hofmeyr’s political views, it was important that “we do not fall into a trap of shutting down spaces for people to interact, like the apartheid government did”.
Virgil Gericke, the leader of a George political party, Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners, said the municipality had buckled because Hofmeyr’s representatives had threatened litigation.
“The DA are afraid of upsetting their white conservative followers.”