HANKEY – More than a decade after its launch, the long-delayed Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance in Hankey will receive a new contractor on 4 July, when Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson ceremonially hands over the site, a project he identified as one of the department’s Top 10 failed priority projects requiring urgent intervention.
According to a statement by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Macpherson will be joined by the Kouga Local Municipality Council Speaker, Lorraine Maree; Deputy Chairperson of the Independent Development Trust, Professor Raymond Nkado; Acting IDT CEO, Sfiso Nsibande; and Mayoral Committee Members from the municipality.
As previously reported in April 2025, during a site visit with Minister Macpherson, Batho Mokhothu, Deputy Director General for Construction Management, assured residents that the construction of the Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance was set to resume and be completed within 13 months.
However, this did not materialise.
According to previous statement by Kouga Municipality statement, 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 handover marks a significant milestone after Macpherson identified the project as one of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s Top 10 failed priority projects requiring urgent intervention last year.
ALSO READ: City Power workers held hostage overnight in Ennerdale electricity stand-off
