PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will officially open the multi-million rand model that has removed debris from Durban.
Ramaphosa will unveil the statue of the former president, Mr. Nelson Mandela and the former leader of the ANC, Mr. Oliver Tambo, on Tuesday.
Mandela’s statue is at Moses Mabhida Stadium, while Tambo’s is at North Beach.
These symbols were supposed to be opened on Friday, but the plans were changed because Ramaphosa is attending the funeral of the American Pastor, Jesse Jackson, at the weekend.
Building these 9 meter tall models cost R22 million.
The money used to build the models has caused confusion especially among the opposition parties in the council.
The opposition groups complain that the council prioritizes unnecessary things but fails to deal with problems including the water that has invaded many areas in Durban.
The DA representative in the mayoral race in Thekwini Municipality, Mr. Haniff Hoosen, has recently written a letter to Ramaphosa asking him to reconsider the issue of the opening of the symbols.
Hoosen asked Ramaphosa to talk about the water problem instead of opening up examples.
He challenged Ramaphosa to use his trip to find out more about the problems plaguing the council.
“The Durban is facing a water problem. It is estimated that 60% of the water ends up in the ground due to old leaking pipes. There is a problem with the sewage pipes. I urge you to call a meeting with the leadership of the council. Your calling the meeting will show that you want a solution to be found to these problems facing the Durban.”
The Mayor of Durban, Mr. Cyril Xaba, defended the use of millions of rands to make models.
Speaking to the media last week, Xaba said that the models will attract tourists, and he said that the reason for the large amount of money spent was that the models were built in China.
The statement issued by Ramaphosa’s Office shows that he will not stop by opening models during his visit to Durban.
The spokesperson for the Office of the President, Mr. Vincent Magwenya, said Ramaphosa will meet again with the team he assigned to advise the Durban Municipality.
“The team was appointed in 2024, to oversee the delivery of services, infrastructure maintenance, economic development and management of the council’s money. In this meeting, the distance traveled and the next step will be discussed. The meeting will be attended by leaders from different organizations.”