President Cyril Ramaphosa later revealed Mthethwa had been panicked by the rejection and outrage about the project.
“So Mthethwa comes to me and says, ‘President, please tell me when I can call you.’ So I say, ‘Mthethwa, I am in a cabinet committee meeting. We will talk afterwards.’
“I call him back and he says, ‘President, this flag thing, which is such a wonderful initiative, it seems our people are not happy with it.’ And I say, ‘Of course they are not happy with it. Cancel this thing,’” said Ramaphosa at the time.
However, in July Mthethwa revealed the flag idea had not been scrapped. In a written parliamentary reply, he indicated the matter was yet to be discussed by cabinet and a final decision was yet to be made.
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DA collects 32,000 signatures opposing R22m SA flag
The DA on Friday said it would hand in a petition containing 32,000 signatures from people opposing the R22m SA flag project.
News about the flag was announced by sports, arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa in May.
MP Tsepo Mhlongo, the DA’s shadow minister of the same portfolio, said South Africans were correct to denounce the project, which he described as “wasteful”.
“The announcement of the R22m project was followed by an immediate nationwide uproar. And rightly so. For nearly two years, the arts and culture sectors had to struggle to survive with limited support from the minister. Many artists struggled to feed their families while their cries for assistance largely fell on deaf ears,” said Mhlongo.
“[This was] only to find out the department had R22m to waste on a giant glow stick the minister planned to somehow keep alight despite rolling blackouts from Eskom.
“Had the minister truly cared about the arts and culture sectors, the money would have been prioritised to stop the gaps at the many crumbling museums, galleries and heritage sites around the country.”
Mhlongo said the petition symbolises South Africans' anger towards Mthethwa.
“Minister Mthethwa’s statement that the flag would foster social cohesion was partly correct. Rarely have South Africans been so single-minded in calling for the immediate cancellation of the ludicrous project. The hatred for this astronomical waste of money was unanimous.
“It should serve as a wake-up call to government. South Africans deserve a caring government that puts their practical needs above empty ideology.
“The R22m could go a long way towards job creation in the arts and culture sectors.”
In May, it was revealed the government had approved the project without taking it under review.
President Cyril Ramaphosa later revealed Mthethwa had been panicked by the rejection and outrage about the project.
“So Mthethwa comes to me and says, ‘President, please tell me when I can call you.’ So I say, ‘Mthethwa, I am in a cabinet committee meeting. We will talk afterwards.’
“I call him back and he says, ‘President, this flag thing, which is such a wonderful initiative, it seems our people are not happy with it.’ And I say, ‘Of course they are not happy with it. Cancel this thing,’” said Ramaphosa at the time.
However, in July Mthethwa revealed the flag idea had not been scrapped. In a written parliamentary reply, he indicated the matter was yet to be discussed by cabinet and a final decision was yet to be made.
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