The EFF tabled a motion in the Free State Legislature calling for the removal of “colonial symbols”, including the statue of Boer general, rebel leader, and politician Christiaan Rudolf de Wet, which is outside the provincial legislature.

The EFF’s debate on Tuesday was led by the red berets’ Free State chairperson, Mandisa Makesini, who on Wednesday told the Citizen that the Free State was one of the provinces where “colonial” or apartheid symbols which did not “reflect the demographics of this current dispensation” continued to occupy public spaces.

Makesini said the EFF was calling for the removal of De Wet’s statute at the Free State Legislature as well as the coat of arms with the inscription Orange Free State and the old Orange Free State flag.

The EFF wanted the legislature to be “inclusive”, Makesini said.

The ANC and DA in the province rejected the motion, while the Freedom Front Plus accepted it with amendments, according to the DA.

Makesini accused the ANC of “playing politics”, saying the latter party had agreed with the red berets on the politics behind the removal of “colonial symbols” but rejected the motion as the party was of the view that it should first be presented to the portfolio committee, and that the correct procedure should be followed.

In a statement on Wednesday, the DA’s Dr Roy Jankielsohn said his party welcomes the rejection of the EFF’s “populist heritage motion”.

Jankielsohn said: “It is a pity that the Freedom Front Plus did not join the DA in rejecting the motion in its totality, but rather opted to turn the motion into a semantic exercise.

“The DA believes that heritage resources are valuable, finite, non-renewable and irreplaceable. The Free State Legislature has a collective responsibility to act as inclusive trustees of our provincial heritage resources. These resources should be used to promote an understanding and respect for our cultural diversity and this why the DA rejected the populist and divisive motion by the EFF. The EFF is clearly confusing transformation with retribution by targeting pre-apartheid Afrikaner heritage, for political purposes.”

Jankielsohn said De Wet was an Afrikaner who fought against British imperialism and was imprisoned for being part of a rebellion against the Union Government.

“The EFF should do more research before attempting to vilify all cultural and historical heritage linked to Afrikaners in the Free State.

“Any proposals to remove or modify heritage resources have to follow the relevant legal prescripts.

“We must also take into account that we have many social challenges that require urgent attention and that people who are unemployed and living in poverty require improved, education, improved healthcare, and employment. The EFF must rather look at the value that our diverse heritage can play in improving the lives of our people through heritage tourism, than concentrating on cheap populist political point-scoring.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.