Political parties and civic organisations will not be among those rolling out the red carpet for president Cyril Ramaphosa when he unveils the R22m statues of former ANC presidents Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela that have stood under wraps in Durban for months, on Tuesday.
Last week eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba said the 9m-high bronze statues will be unveiled on March 6 by Ramaphosa, in line with the city’s aim of strengthening heritage tourism. The date was moved forward to allow the president to attend the funeral of US civil rights luminary Jesse Jackson, who died last week aged 84.
Ramaphosa is expected to meet with the presidential working group after the unveiling to get an update on investment and developments in the city.
The statues, which cost R11m each and tower over OR Tambo Parade in the North Beach precinct and Moses Mabhida Stadium, baffled holidaymakers during the festive season as they were wrapped in plastic sheeting, drawing comments on social media that they looked like mummies.
Now political parties have added their voices to the backlash from social media about the prohibitive costs.
The eThekwini Ratepayers Movement said: “While residents face water outages, sewage spills, collapsing infrastructure and billing chaos, approximately R22m has been sent spent on statues. Ratepayers are told there’s no budget for repair repairs. Yet there’s money for these monuments.
Until the basics are working, there is no justification for extravagant ceremonies funded by ratepayers. Residents deserve clean water flowing from their taps — not ribbon-cuttings and speeches
— Saul Basckin, ActionSA
“Ratepayers fund this municipality through property rates and service charges. Without us, there is no municipal budget.”
Ratepayers, however, are specifically excluded from the “presidential working group“ meeting.
“Business is included. Labour is included. The ratepayers are not. This is symbolism over substance. We respect the legacy of Madiba and Tambo, but their names should not be used to mask financial mismanagement and service delivery failure.”
ActionSA’s Saul Basckin said they have taken “a principled decision to boycott the upcoming statue unveiling. At a time when residents are living with dry taps, sewer overflows, potholes, electricity failures and collapsing infrastructure — spending public money on fanfare, VIP events and ceremonial unveilings is simply wrong. Our priority must be service delivery.
“Until the basics are working, there is no justification for extravagant ceremonies funded by ratepayers. Residents deserve clean water flowing from their taps — not ribbon cuttings and speeches,” he said.
DA mayoral candidate Haniff Hoosen said the DA urged the president to use his visit to convene with the city’s leadership and address the critical service delivery crises currently confronting residents.
“At a time when Durban faces profound service delivery challenges, this allocation of scarce public resources is deeply inappropriate and understandably frustrating for residents who are already burdened by municipal failures,” he said.
Durban is in the grip of a severe water crisis, he added. It is estimated that more than 60% of potable water is lost due to ageing infrastructure and prolonged underinvestment in maintenance. Numerous communities endure extended periods without reliable water supply, and water-shedding measures have been implemented in several major townships.
The city is also grappling with ongoing sewer infrastructure failures, posing serious public health and environmental risks, he said. These challenges stem from years of inadequate prioritisation of core infrastructure maintenance and upgrades. Repeated appeals to city leadership to redirect funding toward essential services have gone largely ignored, to the extent that court intervention has been required to compel corrective action.
Hoosen said despite these urgent needs, substantial public funds continue to be directed toward non-essential prestige projects, while many residents struggle daily with inadequate access to water, sanitation, housing, and employment opportunities.
He said irregular expenditure by eThekwini, which stood at approximately R700m four years ago, has now escalated to over R4bn — a clear indication of deteriorating financial governance.
Hoosen said while across the world statues have a place and play a role of great things done in the past which have moved society forward, government is about priorities and the president should “prioritise the people of eThekwini over vanity”.
Last week the mayor said the unveiling aligns with the city’s strategy to strengthen heritage tourism and position Durban as a premier destination that celebrates South Africa’s liberation history. Beyond tourism, Xaba said, the statues and their locations carry profound historical significance.
However, not everyone is convinced. Some social media users have questioned the timing and necessity of commissioning more statues amid ongoing service delivery challenges. The debate reflects broader concerns about public spending and infrastructure backlogs, even as city officials argue that heritage projects can stimulate tourism and economic growth.
TimesLIVE
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