After years of delays, the construction of the Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance in Hankey is finally set to resume and be completed within 13 months.
This assurance was given by Batho Mokhothu, Deputy Director General for Construction Management, during a site visit on April 17 led by Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean MacPherson.
MacPherson was accompanied by the Departmental Director General Sifiso Mdakane, as well as prominent local government leaders, including Sarah Baartman District Municipality Executive Mayor, Deon de Vos, Kouga Local Municipality Executive Mayor, Hattingh Bornman, Kouga Local Municipality Speaker, Lorraine Maree, local councillors, and Members of the Provincial Legislature.
According to a statement released by the Kouga Municipality, construction of the Centre of Remembrance, originally launched in 2014, has experienced numerous interruptions, with complications involving construction firms resulting in a complete halt.
“The latest commitment from the Department of Public Works marks a turning point in revitalising the long-anticipated memorial building,” the statement said.
Speaking to community members gathered at the Vusumzi Landu Hall in Hankey, MacPherson unveiled his department’s Special Projects Delivery Unit.
During the site visit, MacPherson announced that the Remembrance Centre would be among 30 priority projects to be completed by a newly launched Strategic and Special Delivery Unit (SSDU) within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI).
In a statement released by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, it said that the Unit, which will be led by the Deputy Director-General for Construction Project Management and will include experts from across the Department, will provide MacPherson with fortnightly progress reports to ensure that projects are completed as soon as possible.
MacPherson said the SSDU is one of the concrete steps being taken following his rejection of a joint report by the DPWI and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in September 2024, which revealed that 10 years after construction began – and following the appointment of three separate contractors – the Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance remains wholly incomplete.
With the SSDU now in charge of the project, a new contractor is expected to be appointed by May, and the Centre will finally be completed.
“The Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance is a prime example of how the Department has failed in its core function of delivering social infrastructure to communities. Over a decade, three contractors have attempted to complete the Centre, yet it remains wholly incomplete. This culture of inefficiency within the Department is one we have begun to change, and I have no doubt that the measures announced will ensure the Centre’s completion as soon as possible,” said MacPherson.
“The life of Sarah Baartman remains an important reminder of our painful past, and it is imperative that we honour her memory with the dignity and respect she deserves.
“It is regrettable that, thus far, the work on the Remembrance Centre has failed to achieve this and has instead become a financial burden on taxpayers. This is why urgent action is required to turn the situation around.”
MacPherson said he looks forward to the work the SSDU will undertake in the months ahead to turn around previously stalled and delayed construction projects within the DPWI.
This, he said, would help transform the DPWI into a centre of excellence, with the credibility necessary to help turn South Africa into a construction site.
“Over the past nine months, we have taken concrete action within the Department to reverse years of neglect.
“The SSDU builds on the work we are doing to turn the Department into the economic engine of South Africa – to ignite economic growth and create jobs,” said MacPherson.
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