Women’s Living Monument opening in August, department
By Goitsemang Tlhabye 
Apr 26, 2021
The Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture has hit back at the Tshwane leadership for blasting the delays in the opening of the Women’s Living Heritage Monument in the city centre.
This comes after Tshwane mayor Randall Williams last week said he was shocked to discover that the Women’s Living Heritage Monument on Lillian Ngoyi Square was still not fully operational.
Williams went further to state that the City would be doing everything to engage with the provincial government to ensure that the project, which was started in 2012, finally came to fruition.
One solution he said they (the City) would suggest was to have the it looking at a feasible way of taking over the project.
Williams blasted the department for being prepared to waste R2 million annually for the maintenance and upkeep of the facility, despite that it was not fully operational.
The department, however, said they were concerned about the narrative being purported by the Tshwane leadership, which sought to imply that nothing was being done to get the monument fully operational.
Department spokesperson Nomazwe Ntlokwana said comments such as these were worrying as the leadership in the City were aware of the processes under way to address the identified challenges with the heritage site.
Ntlokwana added that these challenges had even been explained to the leadership during a bilateral meetingwith them on March 11.
Speaking of some of the reasons for the delays, Ntlokwana said the facility had still not been certified for occupation due to structural defects that were identified.
She said that to address these challenges, the department was working with the Department of Infrastructure Development as the implementing agent for all provincial infrastructure.
She added that other challenges that hampered the progress, however, had since been resolved, including disputes between the appointed service provider and sub-contractors.
“Bilaterals are ongoing between the department and the other relevant departments to deal with the outstanding issues to get the occupancy certificates issued so we may ultimately hand over the facility to the City of Tshwane. The following is a proud investment that the province will be making towards the city as part of our objectives to transform the Gauteng landscape, and through this monument hopefully dilute the dominance of masculinity in our heritage sites.”
Ntlokwana said posts for staffing at the facility had already been advertised in order to coincide with the anticipated occupation and opening, earmarked for August, which was also Women’s Month.
The Women’s Living Heritage Monument project was initiated in 2012 and was earmarked to be completed in 2015. And even though the monument was officially unveiled in August 2016, construction was only completed in August 2018.
The Women’s Living Heritage Monument was unveiled by former president Jacob Zuma on Women’s Day in August 2016, while commemorating the story of women’s contribution to the liberation Struggle.
The facility features the plaques of the heroic stalwarts Lillian Ngoyi, Sophia Williams-de Bruyn, Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa.
The four women led a peaceful protest march to the Union Buildings in 1956, with thousands of women from all parts of the country, protesting against carrying a passbook, which was commonly known as a dompas.
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