Phindile Madama-Qekema Multi-Purpose Hall and Lungephi April Library officilly opened to service the people of Moses Mabida Township

Posted: 07 November 2023

Councillor Solethu Lucas, the Mayor of Sundays River Valley Municipality officially opened the Phindile Madama-Qekema Multi-Purpose Hall and Lungephi April Library at Moses Mabida Township in Kirkwood. The guests for the day included the Executive Mayor of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality Cllr. Deon De Vos, Member of Parliament Hon. Nancy Sihlwayi, government departments and local stakeholders.
The two facilities were named after two political activists who were from the area and passed on under the hands of the apartheid police.

While addressing members of the community who filled the new hall to capacity, Mayor Lucas emphasized on the importance of the day to the history of the area. "Today we are writing our own history, we have local people who fought in the struggle it is therefore fit that we honor them and their role in the freedom that we are enjoying today," he said.

Speaking on behalf of the Madama-Qekema family, Mr. Nelvis Qekema said they appreciate the gesture from the municipality to honor their brother like this. "This is an exciting day but at the same time a sad day because it also a reminder of what we have lost," he said.

"The mortal remains of Phindile are still in Pretoria, we have asked the municipality to intervene and liaise with the relevant authorities to assist us in bringing his bones to be buried in his homeland," he added.
He said his brother's name will now be known by generations to come because everyone who sees the name of the hall will be interested to find out who Phindile was.

The multi-million state of the art facility features the main hall area, a conference room, councilor's office, storeroom, a kitchen, VIP toilet facility, changing rooms, and the first floor with grandstand seating. It also features a public ablution block with a storeroom and a guard house at the gate.

The project was completed in 21 months, during this period 38 locals were employed including people with disabilities and youth.

Five (5) local Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) have benefitted in the project and received training before the commencement of the project.

Different speakers emphasized to the community of Moses Mabida Township about the importance of protecting the facilities from theft and vandalism.

The Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation requested the municipality to work with the families to gather information about these two activists so that it could be added to the archives for generations to come.

Figure 2: Opening of the Lungephi April Library.

For more information contact:
Marketing and Communications Team – Eastern Cape
Sandiswa Pholo & Ayanda Jack
spholo@salga.org.za / ajack@salga.org.za
0848889514 / 0638913958