By Fred Felton | Mar. 8, 2026
On Tuesday 3rd March 2026
President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled statues honouring President Nelson Mandela
and former ANC President Oliver Tambo.
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| 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 46th
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.
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