Pretoria - The Tshwane tourism industry has urged the government not to restrict public access to the Nelson Mandela statue at Union Buildings over weekends.
The area was fenced off at the weekend, leaving tourists and locals unable to get closer to the iconic statue.
This did not sit well with veteran tour guide Holder Jensen, who could not get his tourists from Denmark close to the statue they were looking forward to seeing before leaving the country.
It is unclear why the area was fenced, but information from security at the Union Buildings indicated that it was due to safety reasons and that it could become the norm on weekends.
Jensen said: “The authorities need to know that the Nelson Mandela statue is, without doubt, the number one tourist attraction in Pretoria.
“I already have Danish tourists on the way, and they have already said they want to see the Nelson Mandela statue on Saturday morning. My visitors were very disappointed, but through a hole in the fence we entered the park from below the Louis Botha statue to get close enough.”
Jensen said it was unfair, considering that the Khoisan campers had been allowed to live there for three years.
Acting spokesperson for the Presidency Tyrone Seale said the police or the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure should comment about the fencing.
The SAPS and the department had not commented by late yesterday.
Councillor Leanne de Jager was at the Union Buildings on Saturday to assist the Unity Corporation that was filming a documentary and oversee the arrival of a German tour company.
She said security had a note stating that the Union Buildings would be closed every weekend.
“I called the Presidency and was told no one had knowledge of this arrangement. However, in a follow-up call later, it was confirmed that this was indeed so, due to security reasons.
“I was told an instruction would be given to the tourism sector,” said De Jager.
Tshwane Tourism Association chairperson Nico Rowan said the tourism body had yet to receive a notice about the development.
Rowan said the restriction would be a blow for the tourism industry because the statue was a big attraction.
“The Union Buildings and the statue form part of the tourism value chain. When people are done viewing, they go to the restaurants and other businesses to spend their money. I think our government should not just look at security without tempering it with tourism, if that is the case.”
Pretoria News