Lungelo Gumede's statues of SA's presidents, including Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, on Durban's M4 highway. Picture: Screenshot.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it had written to the eThekwini city manager, Sipho Nzuza, requesting details regarding reports that eThekwini was planning to splash out more than R20 million on ANC statues.
It was reported that two new statues of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, which would be erected in Durban this year, would set the city back R20 million.
The DA’s KZN premier candidate Zwakele Mncwango said that while the main opposition party acknowledged the important role played by Mandela and Tambo in the liberation of the country and the party believed the two late ANC leaders must be celebrated, “this current project raises reds flags around the people’s money being spent on an ANC project”.
“This money, which belongs to the people of eThekwini and KZN, would be better spent on speeding up service delivery and opening fair access to real, long-term jobs, not an ANC vanity project ahead of elections they set to lose significant support in,” Mncwango said.
He said in the letter to the city manager that the DA requested Nzuza to outline which line item of the 2018/19 budget and what vote number was used to approve the expenditure.
“The failing ANC cannot do as it pleases with the people’s money.
“The time for change is now, change that puts the people first. Only the DA can build One South Africa for All that stops corruption, speeds up the delivery of services, and opens fair access to real, long-term jobs.”
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