WORK on the unfinished elephant sculptures positioned in Durban’s Warwick Avenue flyover will commence in April to allow artist Andries Botha to complete the sculpture.
City manager, Sibusiso Sithole, responding to questions tabled at a full council meeting on Thursday, said the matter involving the artwork had been dealt with administratively.
Sithole said the municipality has paid Botha R800 000 to-date.
“To complete the additional work, complete the landscaping, pavement work and repair the vandalised site will cost a total of R1. 3 million. This is in terms of the out of court settlement. Funding has been secured by the eThekwini Transport Authority from savings,” he said.
Sithole said the final legal costs paid by council as a result of an out of court settlement reached with the artist amounted to R339 000.
Botha has been locked in legal battles with the Municipality since it stopped work on his sculpture of three elephants in February 2010. The city commissioned Botha to work on the sculpture as part of its urban design project to improve the Warwick Triangle area.
