After years of delays, a sod-turning ceremony will take place, for the second time, at the construction site of a monument honouring the1860 indentured Indian labourers.
The design of the monument was finally approved at a meeting recently, after years of debate.
Ntando Mnyandu, spokesperson for the Provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, confirmed that the sod-turning ceremony will take place in March.
"Now that the design has been agreed upon, the sod-turning will take place and construction will begin. The eThekwini Municipality has granted access to the site near uShaka beach. Timelines will be given once construction begins," said Mnyandu.
In 2015 the eThekwini Municipality was allocated over R4.6m for the monument, which was to be built along South Beach.
Four years later the city was forced to return the money to the office of the KwaZulu-Natal Premier.
This was due to the city not acting fast enough to see the project through. A committee of religious and community leaders was formed to manage the process of erecting a monument.
The committee worked with the city to get the project started.
The eThekwini Municipality, together with an architectural firm, initiated a process whereby selected artists were requested to submit proposals based on a researched brief.
The submission by the recommended artist was rejected by the committee on the basis that the submission did not adequately reflect the story of indenture in South Africa.
In 2016 a sod-turning ceremony took place near Durban's Addington Beach where the monument was ear-marked to be built. This event was attended by then KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu and other dignitaries.
In 2021 the 1860 Commemoration Monument Committee called on the public to forward written expressions of concept on ideas that are best suited to the final visualisation and design of the commemorative monument.
In October last year the eThekwini Municipality's executive committee authorised the premier's office to proceed with erecting a monument honouring the 1860 indentured Indian labourers, commemorating their contributions to KwaZulu-Natal's heritage.
A month later the 1860 Commemoration Council wrote to the premier expressing their dissatisfaction of how the erection of the monument was being handled by the government.
"We have on numerous occasions objected to the bell monument which is a direct insult to the Indian community. We, as a committee that represented people from across the province of KwaZulu Natal had concluded in 2014 a design of the Indentured monument which consisted of an Indian cane cutter, a woman and child on the sugar cane plantation. To date this is not finalised nor looked into seriously.
"We call on the Premier of KwaZulu Natal not to make any public announcements in regards to this monument which is not accepted by the Indian community. It's unfortunate that a selective group of Indian businessmen concluded a bell monument in 2022 which represents the colonial system and oppression. The bell was used to control the Indian cane cutters on the field during working hours and during fires," wrote members of the 1860 Commemoration Council.
Recently the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport, Arts and Culture held a public meeting at the 1860 Heritage Centre, to discuss the progress of the monument and to find a resolution to the objections raised to the bell tower.
Mnyandu said MEC for the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Mntomuhle Khawula, was concerned about the delays in the finalisation of the erection and unveiling of the 1860 Indentured Indian Labourers’ Monument.
"The concerns expressed by MEC Khawula emanated also from the conflicting views from interested parties on the use of the bell as a symbol of the monument. In a bid to find a long lasting solution to this impasse, the MEC tasked a team of senior officials to convene a meeting with all parties involved. These parties included members of the 1860 Organising Committee and several aggrieved individuals including Mr Ishwar Ramlutchman," said Mnyandu.
He said the meeting achieved its desired outcome as a common ground was realised and both parties found each other.
"All the supply chain processes will from now henceforth be expedited. All matters related to accessing the site for the purpose of erecting the monument have since been resolved and finalised with the eThekwini Municipality," said Mnyandu.
Ramlutchman said since 2010 the community has been waiting for a monument depicting the Indian indentured labourers."I had always opposed the design with the bell as it depicted the colonial time when the Indian labourers were controlled.
"After objections a meeting was called by the MEC. During the meeting there was heated debate around the design. I proposed that the bell be removed and the original design remain of an Indian cane cutter, a woman and child on the sugar cane plantation. This was then unanimously agreed upon," he said.
Ramlutchman said this was a victory, adding it was an honouring the hardships endured by the forebearers.
"If we mislead our future generations then the entire history will be lost. We were promised that construction will begin soon. This is a milestone finally. We shall see through the completion of this project," said Ramlutchman.
Despite years of delay of the government driven initiative, other community members and groups have erected structures throughout the province in honour of the 1860 Indian indentured labourers.