Sunday Times<\/a> that the statues were a tourist attraction.<\/p>\n\u201cIf making such art is regarded \u2026 as a waste of taxpayers\u2019 money, then why art schools? Why art faculties at universities? Why do we study art?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rookaya Vawda, a North Beach resident, is livid.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Erecting] a statue in an area where the homeless and hungry seek shelter and food, where the ground reeks of urine and people lack even the most basic necessities like water and toilets, is absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
She likened the expense to festive-season extravagances such as firework displays, concerts, and a carnival (successfully opened by Xaba).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still face burst pipes, power outages, potholes and soaring tariffs. These projects offer only a fleeting illusion that everything is fine, but the harsh reality returns when we look around at the decay.\u201d<\/p>\n
EFF eThekwini councillor Thami Xuma said, \u201cWe need statues, but why two? We know Nelson Mandela is an icon. They went too far. It is about priorities and service delivery backlogs.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Mayor Xaba said the city was far from squirming in the face of social media scorn, and the unveiling was delayed by Durban\u2019s frenzied festive season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been really busy,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
Xaba, who has been mayor for 18 months, said the bustle was a positive sign that the city was on the up and up.<\/p>\n
![\"Cyril](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Cyril-Xaba-ANC-eThekwini-mayor-1.jpeg\" "\\"The")
The eThekwini mayor, Cyril Xaba, \u2018doesn\u2019t see why there should be a controversy\u2019 over the two statues. (Photo: Supplied) <\/p>\n
\u201cThe city has stability that allows for responsive, transparent, and inclusive governance. I have met with ratepayer bodies, traditional leaders and businesses. We have accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xaba said business confidence had shot up to the point that the city had R50-billion in private sector investment commitments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe green shoots are showing. The city is a construction site.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xaba said the statues would probably be unveiled in February, which coincided with the anniversary of Mandela\u2019s historic 1990 speech at Kings Park Stadium, two weeks after his release from prison.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see why there should be a controversy. These statues are huge, and the symbolism is huge. At that very spot, Madiba said, \u2018Throw your weapons into the sea.\u2019 Those words came to define his philosophy of reconciliation. Can you put a price on that?<\/p>\n
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi defended Xaba, saying it wasn\u2019t a case of symbolism over sewage.<\/p>\n
The city had a R70-billion budget, and the statues were budgeted for, separately from water, waste, and service deliverables.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery city has statues,\u201d said Nkosi. Rather than outrage, there should be debate about how public art reflects history.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt must not be a selective story that depends on who is in power. We should be imaginative and reflect our joint history. We should have a statue of the late Zulu king, one for the late Zulu prime minister [IFP founder Mangosuthu Buthelezi], and the Indians who arrived here in 1860. The story must reflect that we are working together rather than fighting.\u201d DM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The eThekwini mayor, Cyril Xaba, is adamant that the two huge statues towering over Durban\u2019s popular promenade (at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[12303,12305,12308,4454,12304,12306,12307,131],"class_list":{"0":"post-19532","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-cyril-xaba","9":"tag-durban-beachfront","10":"tag-durban-promenade","11":"tag-greg-arde","12":"tag-mandela-statue","13":"tag-oliver-tambo-statue","14":"tag-service-delivery-crisis","15":"tag-south-africa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Ard\u00e9-eThekwini-statues\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_4671_706739.jpg\" "\\"The")
The 9m tall statue of Oliver Tambo dwarfs its surroundings. (Photo: Greg Ard\u00e9) <\/p>\n