The nearly finished monument to the African Renaissance rises above the Dakar skyline in Senegal's capital August 19, 2009. The North Korean built monument is billed as a symbol of Africa's rise from "centuries of ignorance, intolerance and racism". But critics of the bronze family of man, woman and infant -- at 50 metres tall just higher than New York's Statue of Liberty -- say it only goes to show that even one of the continent's strongest democracies must put up with the whims of its rulers. President Abdoulaye Wade, who has long styled himself a champion of the poor on the world stage, sparked the furore by declaring himself the "intellectual owner" of the monument and so entitled to a 35 percent cut from future tourist revenues.
3 comments:
President Wade "declared himself the "intellectual owner" of the monument and so entitled to a 35 percent cut from future tourist revenues".
1. It's a waste of scarce resources and shows how greedy and corrupt our African leaders are....what gives him the right to own the monument????
Actually, it is not a waste of resources. Africans need sculptures too. Why not? Besides, it's much prettier (and meaningful than the the piece of metal in the center of Paris).
I agree with the latter, all I see is a strong black man holding his women and child, whatever wade see's is irrelevant.
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