Help keep our Cross on the hill shining

■ Roelof de Jonge

The 28th of March this year marks two decades nine months and 24 days since Christians from various churches in and around Tzaneen gathered at Tzaneen Dam’s wall to bare witness to the unveiling of the area’s most iconic landmark.

It was a humid summer’s evening in 2002, and the occasion was the official inauguration of the huge white cross which stands guard outside the town’s entrance on the koppie in Deerpark. Today it is regarded as one of Tzaneen’s standout landmarks. Bulletin spoke to one of the founding members of this iconic landmark, Chris Lombard.

“The inauguration with an attendance of between 2 000 and 3 000

Christian worshippers is until today regarded as one of the largest gatherings of people ever seen on the dam wall,” he said. “It also provided authorities with one of the largest traffic congestions in Tzaneen, but nevertheless, it was a very successful event and will be remembered by everyone who was there that evening.”

A financial stumbling block has since emerged which threatens the very existence of the Cross.

“The sponsor responsible for the electricity bill has informed our custodians of the Cross that it is not able to pay for the bill any longer. This is all due to the financial woes many companies suffer from these days as a result from amongst other elements, the ongoing business destroying electricity crisis on top of an already weak economy.”

Lombard and his fellow custodians are hard at work to identify new sponsors who will be able to help pay the electricity bill.

“We don’t know the estimated

E-posadresse/E-mail addresses: adinda@farnorthbulletin.co.za

Briewe/Letters: joe@farnorthbulletin.co.za

Sport: roelof@farnorthbulletin.co.za

Nuus & foto’s/News & photos: joe@farnorthbulletin.co.za

■ Joe Dreyer

monthly costs currently, because the bill was paid on our behalf, so we never knew the figures and that is something we as the founders also need to establish.”

The Cross towers about 16m up and weighs 1,8 tons and is mounted on a concrete foundation of 6 cubic me- ters. The front and back of the Cross is lit up by 32 fluorescent bulbs, 16 in the front and 16 at the back end. People who are willing to contribute to this cause can contact the office of the NG Moedergemeente Tzaneen on 015 307 6865 or 060 560 0554 or Chris Lombard on 083 301 4368.