Thiès, Dec 18 (APS) – The Lat-Dior statue in Thiès cost more than 44 million FCFA, instead of the 70 million FCFA, put forward by certain media and on social networks, specifies the city of Thiès, in a press release sent to the APS.
“The exact amount devoted to this work of art is 44,338,500 FCFA francs including VAT (all taxes included), or 36,357,570 FCFA francs excluding VAT”, indicates in particular the press release signed by the Directorate of Information and Communication of the said municipal institution.
According to the city of Thiès, “this project was awarded following a recommendation from the Central Directorate of Public Procurement (DCMP) which had instructed the mayor of the city to launch the market with a request for information and prices to open competition (DRPCO)”.
“In accordance with the regulations in force in Senegal, the city included the market in its procurement plan, before proceeding with its launch,” the text continues.
The municipal institution says it regrets the “propagation of inaccurate figures likely to distort the reality of the facts and sow confusion in public opinion”.
“The Thiès city council would like to reiterate its commitment to transparency in the execution of projects and invites all citizens to refer to official information to avoid any interpretation,” adds the same source.
The statue representing the figure of resistance to French colonization, Lat-Dior Ngoné Latyr Diop, mounted on his horse Malaw, was inaugurated on Thursday by the President of the Republic Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
This project in the city of Thiès carried out by the Burkinabe artist-sculptor Siriki Ky, is a 2.65 meter bronze work.
The scientific committee for this project is chaired by Professor Ibrahima Thioub, with Professor Babacar Mbaye Diop as rapporteur.
Its members include Professor Mamadou Babacar Ndiaye, rector of the Iba Der Thiam University of Thiès (UIDT), Adja Maïmouna Niang, teacher-researcher at the UIDT, Ousseynou Masserigne Guèye, director of information and communication of the city of Thiès, etc.
Siriki Ky, a world-renowned sculptor, works in bronze, using ancestral techniques, such as cooking molds over a wood fire and casting the bronze in a traditional forge.
The artist, knighted in the Order of the Lion in 2018 by President Macky Sall during the inauguration of the Museum of Black Civilizations, created a good number of the statues which adorn the Allée des Etalons in Burkina Faso, including those by Senegalese directors Sembene Ousmane and Alain Gomis.
“The work that we have inaugurated today, beyond its aesthetic dimension, like so many products of our artists, filmmakers, carries an effective educational function in the transmission of our values and virtues the best,” said the Head of State during the inauguration ceremony of the statue in tribute to the national hero Lat-Dior Diop.
