The price of social cohesion

FOLLOWING a public outcry, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa directed that the decision to erect a gigantic “monumental flag”, which would cost taxpayers R22million, be reviewed.

The idea behind the project was to foster social cohesion, something that is needed urgently in South Africa as we still see blatant racism.

The question is how effective are such monuments in fostering social cohesion? The idea is not as black and white as one would think.

Let’s unpack some recent events that call for social cohesion: the urinating incident at Stellenbosch University as well as another that surfaced following that.

How the July unrest in KwaZulu-Natal played out in Phoenix and that always close to or after Diwali there’s some racial spat on social media over fireworks, which shows the intolerance of human beings living side by side.

There are many other examples out there that never make it on to the pages of newspapers or on the radio news bulletins.

The outcry over the monumental flag was largely based on the timing and its price tag, taking into consideration the country’s economic climate.

When calling for the review Mthethwa said he could not just dismiss people when they raised issues or ideas they were not ready for. He said they had listened to the people and had to go back to the drawing board to check where the disconnect was, whether it was the cost or the idea South Africans had not embraced.

The planned 100m-high flag was to be constructed at Freedom Park in Pretoria.

Mthethwa must be applauded for announcing they would review the decision to erect the flag.

Given the re-occurring incidents of racism, it would be in the best interest of citizens for the department to look into what can foster social cohesion, and what it is that needs to be done to bring about an impactful change in this regard. What must be noted is that the recent acts of racism were meted out by young people, possible future leaders of this country.

One key expectation is that discussions that follow the project being placed on the back burner include finding solutions on how to go about fostering much-needed social cohesion.