Construction Controversy
Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from the North Korea, was given a N$60 million contract from Namibia to build the 732-acre (2.96 km2) monument. The contract was awarded without any competitive tendering process, and eventually the construction cost doubled. The intransparent contracting of foreign manual labour has been criticised by corruption watchdog insight Namibia.
The memorial has been described as "monstrous" and its erection was speculated to "reveal a lack of African self-confidence". The statue of the Unknown Soldier resembles the physical features of Sam Nujoma, Namibia's founding president and ultimately the initiator of its erection.
In May 2005, a report in The Namibian noted that Heroes Acre was "already showing signs of decay". In particular, a bronze statue of a soldier had suffered damage, as had the plinth on which it stood. Some of the gold-coloured letters forming an inscription on the plinth were broken or missing, and the letters were "made of a cement-like substance, which had been painted gold and then glued to the plinth" Since this article appeared it has now been restored to its former glory.
Read more about this topic: Heroes' Acre (Namibia)
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