Pretoria - Saturdays are not the same anymore at the Union Buildings. This is according to locals, tourists, informal traders and photographers who can now no longer access the Nelson Mandela statue on weekends.
Those who earn their living at the public area said they were disappointed with the decision taken following a “public threat”. As a result, the government resorted to closing the statue area on weekends and public holidays.
Department of Public Works and Infrastructure spokesperson Thami Mchunu said, following concerns by members of the public and the Tshwane Tourism Industry, they had to close the area on weekends and public holidays.
“Yes, we can confirm that the public area in the Union Buildings around former president Mandela’s statue has been closed off to the general public on weekends and public holidays due to security issues.
“This measure emanates from a recent incident that prompted this action. The situation will continuously be evaluated for the foreseeable future.”
However, this news has not been well received by the informal traders and photographers who earn their living by offering their services to tourists, particularly on Saturdays and Sundays, which are the busiest times.
Photographer Hector Chekero said he was still in disbelief, especially after 11 years of taking pictures of tourists in front of the statue.
“Weekends are the days when people have time to come here and bring their families and friends, but suddenly that will not be happening anymore. I am worried because this will cut our earning power. I believe I speak for all photographers when I say this.”
Aspiring model Chane Miller and Mopani TVET college students Maselo Modiba, Isaac Chauke and Busisiwe Shai from Limpopo were among those who visited the area for the last time this week yesterday.
Miller said it would probably be disappointing to have no access to the statue on weekends. Her team expressed concerns for the tourism industry due to this change.
Student leader Modiba said: “We came to Gauteng to attend the Capacity Buildings of the Students Leaderships conference in Johannesburg, which included all 50 TVET colleges in the country, and we decided we could not leave without coming to see the capital city and the Mandela statue.
“We were going to be disappointed if we came here on Saturday. That was going to be sad because we do not know how long it will be before we return here. I do not wish to imagine that.”
Informal trader Enos Nawe, who sells ice cream, said he made most of his money on weekends unless there was a big protest that left demonstrators exhausted by the heat, and then he made “killing”.
The loss of income would get worse as people start to know that they should not bother going to the Union Buildings on weekends, he said.
The group of Khoisan who have been camping at the Union Buildings for nearly four years, said they had to use a hole on the fence to exit and enter the premises when it was closed on weekends.
The same hole was used by a group of Danish tourists last weekend, who said they could not imagine leaving the country without getting a closer look at the Mandela statue and taking pictures.
Frustrated veteran tour guide Holder Jensen said it was a bad move that undermined tourism. He added that things were changing every time,because four decades ago, tourists could climb up and take pictures right next to the actual building.
Chairperson of the Tshwane Tourism Association Nico Rowan said the industry was not informed that the public area would be fenced off on weekends and the reasons for taking those measures.
Pretoria News