The World descents to Tshwane as South Africa’s Capital City prepares to receive and host President Mandela’s mortal remains. Ahead of the public viewing, The City of Tshwane will tomorrow, December 11, 2013 welcome a full complement of the Gauteng Government Delegation, led by the Gauteng Premier, Ms. Nomvula Mokonyane, for the viewing of Madiba’s body at the Union Buildings. The delegation will converge at the City Hall from 7:30 where they will be welcomed by Tshwane Executive Mayor, Councilor Kgosientso Ramokgopa and city councilors. The delegation will visit the Union Buildings where Madiba’s body will be laying in state from Wednesday, 11 December to Friday, 13 December 2013. The Premier and Executive Mayor are expected to lead the entourage from City Hall to the Union Buildings from 8:30 where they will file past and view Madiba’s body from 10:00. The procession at the Union Buildings is expected to be led by Presidency and the Mandela family, followed by Cabinet, Heads of State, and then the Gauteng Government delegation. The Gauteng Government delegation will comprise the Executive of the Province, its legislature (MPLs), metro councilors, districts and local councilors, and top senior officials from province and municipalities. Members of the media are invited to join the delegation at the City Hall. City of Tshwane park and ride facilities and memorial route Due to the anticipated increase of private vehicle use, the City of Tshwane has activated numerous park and ride facilities for the public at Tshwane Events Center; LC De Villiers Sports Facility in Hatfield and Fountains Valley Park to the Union Buildings. Members of the public are urged to make use of these services as access to view the body will be restricted to people in city buses only. Members of the public will only start viewing from noon to 17:30, and no accreditation is required The daily procession will leave 1 Military Hospital in Thaba Tshwane at 7am to the Union Buildings. The cartage of the late president will depart from 1 Military Hospital on Old Pretoria road towards the City where it will join Kgosi Mampuru Road until the intersection of Madiba Street where it will proceed in the eastern direction towards the Union buildings. Members of the public are expected to line up the routes and form a public guard of honour for Madiba when the remains are transported. Street vendors are advised that no trading will be allowed on the designated roads during the cartage movement on all three days. Shop owners along these routes are also advised to temporarily close shop given the large number of people expected to line the streets. The following areas of interest marks Madiba’s footsteps in Tshwane Pretoria central Prison (Kgosi Mampuru Street) On 7 November 1962, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to five years for incitement and leaving the country illegally. He then began serving his sentence at Pretoria Local Prison and was assigned the prisoner number 19476/62. Freedom Park (Salvokop, a few metres from Kgosi Mampuru Street) In 1999 President Mandela said “the day should not be far off, when we shall have a people’s shrine, a freedom park, where we shall honour with all the dignity they deserve, those who endured pain so we should experience the joy of freedom.” Mandela was describing the Freedom Park, which today stands on 52 hectares on Salvokop in Pretoria; a monument to democracy. Palace of Justice (Church Square) On 9 October 1963, Nelson Mandela along with 10 other accused appears in the Palace of Justice in Pretoria. They were the accused in the Rivonia Trial. The case was remanded to 29 October. Prisoners were transported in the back of a van using the Madiba street entrance. This is where Mandela made his famous speech which concluded as follows “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Corner Lillian Ngoyi and Madiba streets Lillian Madiba Ngoyi (25 September 1911- 13 March 1980) was a South anti- apartheid activist. She was the first woman elected to the executive committee of the African National Congress, and helped launch the Freedom of South African Women. On 9 August 1956, Ngoyi led a march along with Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, Bertha Gxowa and Albertina Sisulu of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings of Pretoria in protest against the apartheid government requiring women to carry passbooks as part of the pass laws. Lillian Ngoyi visited Nelson Mandela on Robben Island prison in August 1973. Nelson Mandela Drive and Madiba Street It’s only in the City of Tshwane where two streets named after Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela, meets. It is at this intersection where the City of Tshwane has set up an eco-open park in honour of Mandela. Union Buildings The body of Nelson Mandela will lie in state at the amphitheatre at the Union Buildings from Wednesday 11 December till Friday 13 December. Mandela was sworn in as the first president of the Democratic Republic of South Africa on 10 May 1994. On 10 December 2002, President Thabo Mbeki bestowed the country’s Order of Mapungubwe on president Nelson Mandela. Tshwane memorial service The City will host a memorial service at Lucas Moripe “Masterpieces” stadium on 12 December 2013 from 14:00, to honour the democratic Capital’s City forefather and founder. The memorial service will be address by senior members of the national cabinet and interfaith community, supplemented by cultural performance and citations.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:16:52 +0000
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