Durban’s giant bronze statues of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, still wrapped in plastic, have become unlikely festive-season punchlines and a lightning rod for anger over service delivery. Critics call the R22m commission vanity spending amid sewage failures and potholes, while Mayor Cyril Xaba insists the unveiling is imminent. What was meant to glorify the two Struggle heroes and enhance the city’s tourism offering has stirred up a hornets’ nest around spending priorities in an election year.
The Mandela statue is in the precinct between the Moses Mabhida and Kings Park stadiums, while the statue of Tambo is about 2km away in front of the Bay of Plenty. “They are an absolute waste of money,” says Asad Gaffar from the eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement. “What value will these statues add when we have other, more pressing issues?
Wastewater plants are not working, and street lights are broken.” Opposition parties are having a field day with the statues. Haniff Hoosen, the Democratic Alliance mayoral candidate,posted a videothat has since gone viral, slamming the city’s priorities. Hoosen said the big reveal had been planned for December, but since his video (which attracted 252,000 views), the city has been too embarrassed to unveil the statues, fearing further ridicule.
Read Full Article on Daily Maverick
