JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African officials say they will build a dedicated museum honoring Nelson Mandela’s struggle against apartheid, on the site where he was arrested 49 years ago.

Mandla Mandela spoke Friday on behalf of his grandfather at the launch of an exhibition at the undeveloped museum site. He said Mandela asked him to urge South Africans to remember all who were active in the struggle against apartheid, not just him.

The provincial government will pay for the $1.2 million museum and memorial, which is expected to create jobs in the largely rural area.

Mandela was arrested near the town of Howick, some 300 miles (500 kilometers) from Johannesburg, on August 5, 1962. He became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 after spending 27 years in prison.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.