Ramaphosa to unveil controversial R22m Mandela, Tambo statues in Durban in March

President Cyril Ramaphosa will unveil the statues of struggle icons Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo in Durban next month while debate over the R22 million spent by the eThekwini Municipality continues.

The 9-metre-tall bronze statues have become the centre of much debate due to questions over the cost involved and the lengthy wait for their unveiling. The statue of Mandela is at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and the Tambo statue is on the Durban beachfront promenade.

Addressing the media in Durban on Sunday, eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba confirmed the date for the official unveiling of the statues. He said the statues form a key part of the City's tourism strategy and are linked to the country's heritage.

Xaba stated that the statues and their locations carry profound historical significance.

“Two weeks after his release from prison in 1990, Nelson Mandela addressed his first rally in Durban at Kings Park Stadium, where he delivered a defining message that shaped the trajectory of our nation.

“Speaking before more than 200,000 people, he called for peace, unity, and reconciliation, declaring, and I quote, ‘Take your guns, spears and pangas and throw them in the sea. Close down the death factories. End this war now’,” Xaba said.

Addressing the issue of the costs of the statues, the mayor said: “We wish to clarify that no financial resources were diverted from service delivery projects to fund the statues of our iconic leaders. These statues were financed through allocations made in previous years’ budgets, and therefore did not impact current or ongoing service delivery commitments.

“We are aware that detractors may attempt to peddle a misleading narrative suggesting otherwise. Let it be unequivocally stated that service delivery remains our foremost priority, and the municipality continues to channel resources toward projects that directly benefit our communities,” he said.

He was responding to comments made by the DA’s eThekwini mayoral candidate, Haniff Hoosen, who said the Public Protector had been asked to investigate the decision to spend R22 million on statues while the city faces an uncontrollable water and sanitation crisis.

He also claimed that money had been redirected from infrastructure projects for the statues.

The mayor said that the statues stand as symbols of heritage and pride, funded responsibly and transparently, without compromising the delivery of essential services to our people.

“As we build new monuments to address distortions and imbalances in our heritage landscape, we will also preserve existing ones to affirm our diverse histories. In this context, we are engaging with the Consul-General of Portugal to relocate the sculpture of the renowned Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa, from the city centre to the Durban Botanical Gardens. This initiative will not only honour and preserve the legacy of this literary icon but will also promote the shared heritage of South Africa and Portugal,” he concluded. 

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