Here is why Penny Lebyane defended the R22 million flag project

It was just a week ago that veteran TV and radio personality Penny Lebyane found herself on the wrong side of Twitter after she essentially expressed her support for Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s controversial multi-million rand flag project.

The department had planned to erect a 120-metre flag at the Freedom Park Heritage site in Pretoria as a symbol of unity and democracy. The project would have cost taxpayers a whopping R22 million – R17 million for the installation of the flag and another R5 million for geotechnical studies.

Widespread criticism prompted Mthethwa to put it on hold and review the decision to continue with it. He had previously defended it, saying it is an important part of his department’s mandate. Unlike most of her peers in the entertainment industry, Lebyane seemed to suggest the flag wasn’t an entirely bad idea.

She tweeted: “Obviously @NathiMthethwaSA is not liked by a whole industry that hates itself so nothing new there for me. But l have a question.

“How did they build your favorites The Eiffel Tower in Parys, Statue Of Liberty in NewYork, Christ The Redemeer in Rio De Janeiro? Why do u like them?”

If what the EFF has said is anything to go by, Penny Lebyane may have had a reason to defend Nathi Mthethwa and the flag project. The party shared the program of an event which Lebyane is going to MC for the Gauteng Provincial Government – and Mthethwa is one of the speakers.

While it can’t be said for sure, the revelation will certainly raise eyebrows and fuel suggestions Lebyane was singing for her supper.

Hawu kanti @PennyLebyane you were singing for your MC gig… Was the flag going to get unveiled at this event @GautengProvince pic.twitter.com/9uq5IM8qb0

— EFF Ward 60 Johannesburg (@EFF_WARD60_JHB_) May 25, 2022

Sports broadcaster Robert Marawa was one of those who slammed Lebyane for her tweet, arguing that the monuments in those countries cannot be compared to a flag, he also reminded her that there are millions of impoverished people who could benefit from that money.

“They were NOT flags!! They were NOT vanity projects in a struggling economy of mass youth unemployment caused by a thieving government!!” he wrote angrily on Twitter while sharing some information on the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.