President Cyril Ramaphosa Unveiled Landmark Statues in eThekwini Municipality

 

By Fred Felton | Mar. 8, 2026

On Tuesday 3^rd March 2026 President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled statues honouring President Nelson Mandela and former ANC President Oliver Tambo.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was joined by eThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba, as well as national and provincial Members of Parliament, councillors and other government officials at the official unveiling of landmark statues honouring struggle stalwarts Nelson Mandela and former ANC President Oliver Tambo. | Photo: Thuli Dlamini. 

The 10-metre statues have been installed in prominent and accessible locations in Durban.

‘’The eThekwini Municipality has bestowed this honour on these two icons in recognition of their contribution towards our struggle for freedom, social justice and the empowerment of our people. Monuments of this nature are important for preserving our history and heritage. They anchor the collective memory of a nation. They are important as a public affirmation of the values which these leaders represented and the principles for which they fought,’’ said President Cyril Ramaphosa.

These statues celebrate the historic contribution made by both leaders to the country’s liberation and democracy and are directed at enhancing the city’s cultural and heritage tourism offering.

‘’It is significant that these statues are unveiled in the year that we celebrate 30 years of the adoption of our democratic Constitution,’’ noted President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The unveiling formed part of the City’s commitment to promote Durban as a heritage tourism destination.

‘’We unveil these statues knowing that people from across our country and across the world will come to see them, eThekwini is one of the premier tourist destinations in our country and we can anticipate that these statues will contribute to exceptional growth in tourism. It is said that more than 6.8 million people visited the beaches and the promenade over the festive season and that more than 1.2 million bathers were recorded at the municipality’s swimming pools. 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. I am therefore pleased to announce that eThekwini will be the venue for the 46^th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community – SADC – to be held in August 2026,’’ said President Cyril Ramaphosa.

‘’As we face the challenges of today and tomorrow, we are standing on the shoulders of these brave men and women, their lives will continue to inspire and encourage us as we strive together for a better world,’’ noted President Cyril Ramaphosa.

‘’Each statue celebrates the extraordinary contributions these leaders made to the country’s journey to freedom. We trust that these statues will inspire present and future generations to learn more about the immense contributions these struggle icons made in building the democratic South Africa we enjoy today,’’ said eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Councillor Cyril Xaba.

Following the unveiling ceremony, President Cyril Ramaphosa convened a meeting of the Presidential eThekwini Working Group (PeWG) at the Durban ICC.

The Presidential eThekwini Working Group, was established in April 2024, it is a collaborative initiative between The Presidency, the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) to address service delivery challenges, improve infrastructure, stabilise governance, and enhance economic growth in the municipality.

The meeting brought together key stakeholders including business and organised labour leaders, Ministers, Premier Thami Ntuli, Members of the Executive Council (MECs), senior government officials, and the Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Councillor Cyril Xaba.

The engagement took stock of the progress made since the establishment of PeWG and outlined the next phase of focused interventions aimed at strengthening economic growth, job creation, infrastructure development, and improved service delivery in eThekwini.