THE government has reportedly revisited plans to erect a life-size statue of the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo with two construction companies earmarked for the project being tasked to complete the job by end of April this year.
Report by Gamma Mudarikiri Own Correspondent
The project was stalled under unclear circumstances last year amid reports the government had run out of money to pay the contractor.
Home Affairs co-minister Kembo Mohadi confirmed the development yesterday, but declined to give finer details saying it was too early to do so.
“As the government we have not abandoned the project. Just be assured that something has been done,” he said.
“It is still work in progress and at the moment it is too early to give more details on the project.”
However, sources privy to the matter told NewsDay two construction companies — one based in Bulawayo and the other in Harare — had been shortlisted to work on the pedestal where the statue will stand.
A North Korean company which sculpted the initial statue is expected to finalise mounting it in April this year.
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However, it remains unclear whether the government would erect a new statue or use the original one which was pulled down following protests by the late nationalist’s family members.
The initial statue was pulled down under cover of darkness in 2010 shortly after it had been mounted at the intersection of Main Street and Eighth Avenue in Bulawayo after Nkomo’s family described it as too small for a man of his stature.
The family alleged that they had not been formally consulted over the type, its characteristics and proposed location.
Civic society groups in Bulawayo joined in the protests criticising the fact that the statue was made by North Koreans, who are linked to training the Fifth Brigade that committed the massacre of more than 20 000 civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands during the Gukurahundi era.
Meanwhile, the proposed site of the statue has become an eyesore with heaps of gravel dumped on site.
The construction of the pedestal stopped after the then Harare-based contractor deserted the project over payment wrangles.
Construction of a similar statue in Harare in 2010 also reached a stalemate as the Harare City Council was locked in a bitter wrangle with the Mining Industry Pension Fund over a piece of land near Karigamombe Centre where the statue was supposed to be mounted. The matter was later shelved indefinitely.
The founding Zapu leader, affectionately known as Father Zimbabwe, died of prostate cancer on July 1 1999.
