Ramaphosa unveils R22 million statues as water crisis rages
President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled two 10-meter-tall bronze statues in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, depicting late former president Nelson Mandela and anti-apartheid activist and ANC president, Oliver Tambo.
The statues were commissioned and paid for by the eThekwini government, funded out of the tourism budget.
At the unveiling ceremony, the president said the statues are monuments honouring two icons who contributed to the ANC’s struggle for freedom and social justice in the country.
Oliver Tambo initiated the drafting of the ANC’s Constitutional Principles, which were developed while the liberation movements were still banned and while apartheid oppression was at its height.
Ten years after that, it was Nelson Mandela who signed the democratic Constitution into law.
“Monuments of this nature are important for preserving our history and heritage. They anchor the collective memory of a nation,” he said.
“They are important as a public affirmation of the values which these leaders represented and the principles for which they fought.”
According to Ramaphosa, having the statues serves as a physical reminder of what the people of South Africa should strive to be:
“Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo were men of peace. They sought to resolve conflict through dialogue,” he said.
“They were leaders of integrity and honesty. They sought no rewards for themselves. Only freedom for their people.”
The president added that the statues will also boost tourism in the city, noting that eThekwini is “one of the premier tourist destinations” in South Africa.
“We can anticipate that these statues will contribute to exceptional growth in tourism. They will contribute to a revival of the fortunes of the city as it works to tackle some of the challenges of recent years,” Ramaphosa said.
The city reported more than 6.8 million people visiting its beaches and the promenade over the festive season.
“This is a sign both of what the city has to offer and the hard work that has been done by all stakeholders to ensure that eThekwini is a place that people want to visit,” the president said.
Statues and sewage
The statues have not come without controversy, particularly due to their combined price tag of R22 million.
The local government has been criticised for spending millions of rands on what many have deemed a vanity project for the ANC, while many city residents continue to suffer.
The DA’s mayoral candidate in eThekwini, Haniff Hoosen, as well as other opposition parties in the city, picketed and boycotted the ceremony, decrying the statues as a waste of money.
According to Hoosen, the statues reflect the city’s failure to put its people first.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa in parliament addressed the nation, and he promised South Africa that he will hold people accountable who fail to provide water to the communities,” he said.
“Two weeks later, he is here to unveil a statue worth R22 million. That money should have been used to fix the pipes here in eThekwini.”
The mayoral candidate noted that 60% of water is being wasted in the city, while “water shedding” is active for residents.
“And yet the president sees it fit to celebrate the unveiling of a statue of shame. It’s a statue of shame because the city government here have failed to invest our money in fixing the pipes,” he said.
“Thousands of people, entire communities, are going without water for weeks on end. We have sewage flowing into our ocean. And we have a president who is unveiling a R22 million statue. That is simply not acceptable.”
News24 reported that the city was forced to close major beaches during the festive season in 2025 due to high levels of E. coli and pollution.
Hoosen said that the fact that the money came from a different budget—tourism, not services—is irrelevant, since all budgets are funded by taxpayer money.
“That money belongs to the people of the city, and it should be used for the benefit of the people of the city. What we expect from our leadership is to fix what’s broken first,” he said.
“If they are serious about tourism, they should have invested that money in the sewer infrastructure. We have sewage flowing into our oceans—that’s why the tourists have disappeared. You’re not going to bring them back by putting up statues.”
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