Johannesburg - The office of the mayor of Johannesburg, Mpho Phalatse, has reaffirmed the importance of the City of Johannesburg’s relationship with the USA.
This comes after Phalatse received criticism from different quarters and on social media for presiding over an event commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King jr, the American civil rights icon, at an event held at the Johannesburg Theatre. Some people had accused the mayor of being out of touch with what was happening in the city of Johannesburg.
Phalatse’s spokesperson, Mabine Seabe, said there was nothing wrong with the mayor celebrating an American icon.
“The executive mayor holds the common view that South Africa is a country connected to the rest of the world, and our struggle for freedom and justice was achieved with the assistance of and solidarity from people, countries and movements around the world. Notably, approximately 600 American companies operate in South Africa, with trade worth $21 billion (about R357bn). Meaning that our relationship as a city and country with the US is a deep and meaningful one,” Seabe said.
According to Seabe, the mayor has also placed emphasis on the celebration of South African liberation heroes. She said there were several projects that the city was embarking on to preserve the legacies of South African icons such as Winnie Madikizela Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
“As one of her first acts when elected, executive mayor Phalatse commemorated the late Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu. Further to this, work is well under way to rename and develop the precinct around St Mary’s Cathedral as the Desmond Tutu Heritage Precinct, with the proposal of renaming streets after Trevor Huddleston, Simon Nkoane, and others,” Seabe said.
Seabe said that concerning the preservation of Winnie Madikizela Mandela’s legacy, there had been talks between the city and the Mandela Foundation to have a museum in Soweto dedicated to the late struggle icon. The mayor’s office emphasised that South Africa had received support from international movements to pull the country out of the hands of the apartheid regime.
“In her remarks at the theatre, executive mayor Phalatse drew parallels between Dr Martin Luther King and president Nelson Mandela, where she stated that, ‘When Martin Luther King jr spoke about having a ‘dream’ for America, that dream was not a personal inclination but spoke about the divine mission he had been given by God for a people who were oppressed and a nation that was divided.
“Equally, his contemporary, president Nelson Mandela’s ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ was not one of his own but one where he walked with God towards building a just and fair society that women and men like me and you continue to walk today,” Seabe said.
Seabe said there were other great plans the city of Johannesburg had to commemorate local heroes in all sectors of society, including arts and culture.
“Towards the end of last year, executive mayor Phalatse unveiled the Diamond Walk at the Joburg Theatre, which pays homage to 60 years of the theatre and to South African artists, past and present, like Sibongile Khumalo, Johnny Clegg, Miriam Makeba, and Professor Mzilikazi Khumalo, to name but a few,” Seabe said.
Seabe said Phalatse was concerned about race relations in South Africa, including issues of economic and social inequality brought forward by the legacy of apartheid.
“The executive mayor, as the DA Joburg caucus leader, has also led conversations about race within the DA and the country,” Seabe said.
The Star