President Cyril Ramaphosa with one of the two statues that was unveiled in the province on Mandela Day. Photo via the South African Presidency
The unveiling of two Nelson Mandela statues by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday has proved controversial, with some saying the money would have been better spent on schools, roads or other desperately needed infrastructure in Mandela’s home province.
“We have Nelson Mandela everywhere in the country, even on our money. We did not need two more statues,” said an Eastern Cape resident who works in Johannesburg.
The statue at the Nelson Mandela Museum’s Bhunga Building in Mthatha, and one at the Qunu Youth and Heritage Centre, are part of the festivities for International Nelson Mandela Day, celebrated on July 18 annually. This year would have been Mandela’s 105th birthday.
Lindokuhle Baloyi, who is from the Eastern Cape but works as a librarian in Alexandra township in Johannesburg, told the Mail & Guardian that Eastern Cape is a poverty stricken province and the money invested in the statues should have rather been used for development.
“Yes, Tata [Nelson Mandela] should always be celebrated for his contribution to the struggle but I think doing other things like building bridges, schools and roads in the Eastern Cape would have made sense,” he said.
Baloyi said there were already countless images, statues and buildings paying homage to the country’s first democratically elected president. “Tata loved children, why not do something that aligns with that to honour him?”
A teacher at the Milton Mbekela Senior Secondary School in Qunu, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “We do not have enough resources in our schools; no books and food for our learners. Mandela believed in education, so why not invest in that? What will a statue do for us?”
The teacher added: “I have heard people say this will boost the tourism in this place, but who exactly will benefit from that?”
Political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast said it was difficult to strike a balance between the reason for erecting statues and dealing with the problems faced by the province.
“The point I am making is that statues have a role, statues are symbols of the past. Some people see them as symbols of uniting people. We have to always acknowledge the past so that that past does not happen again. [We need them to] celebrate those that laid [down] their lives, to reflect on the past.
“We must not only focus on one thing and dismiss statues, as they are meant to unify people. But there are some people that say some statues we must get rid of because they are symbols of oppression. But statues are meant to celebrate people and their contribution to democracy or wars.”
During his keynote speech at the unveiling, Ramaphosa said: “These statues of Madiba are beacons of hope to individuals and communities that are still suffering from the evils of marginalisation, and the scourges of poverty, inequality and underdevelopment.”
The chief executive of the National Heritage Council of South Africa, Sonwabile Macontywa, told Newzroom Afrika: “We have to re-think beyond having a symbol. How does it benefit the community? Go to a place called Nkantolo where Robert Sobukwe was born, and you ask yourself how these statues of the icons carry the paradigm and benefit the communities.
“In these rural areas, there’s a lot that could be [done] if you were to find equity partners to run these things to benefit communities,’’ he added. “We have copied exactly what Europe was doing in terms of ‘monumentalisation’ of our heritage and not included the organic aspects of our heritage.”