1990 | Former President of the African National Congress (ANC), Oliver Tambo, returns to South Africa after spending 30 years in exile Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Rob Bogaerts/Anefo
1990 | Former President of the African National Congress (ANC), Oliver Tambo, returns to South Africa after spending 30 years in exile Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Rob Bogaerts/Anefo
There’s a bit of a fuss being kicked up in the chambers of Ekurhuleni City Council this week. The DA have been left furious by the revelation that the city blew an eight-figure sum on commemorating OR Tambo through a statue – without even erecting it.
The R11 million OR Tambo statue “going to waste”
The statue was scheduled to be unveiled in 2017 to mark his centenary year at the OR Tambo International Airport, but is locked up in a warehouse due to indecision between the national ANC government and the local ANC in Ekurhuleni.
The regional government are adamant that the statue will get the go-ahead in December 2019, and they are looking to hold a ceremony as they unveil the work. But the DA’s Shadow MMC for Public Participation and Petitions isn’t taking their deadline seriously, and suspects foul-play is afoot.
ANC claim they have a plan, but DA doubt it
Malcolm Maifala has praised the legacy of OR Tambo, but was incandescent that taxpayer funds have been diverted away from things like service delivery – which he believes is actually an insult to the struggle icon.
“When the construction of the statue was initially proposed, the DA strongly opposed the idea as R11 million was an excessive amount to be spent on a statue. We are not opposed to honouring the legacy of OR Tambo, but it is unjustified that two years later, an R11 million statue is sitting in a warehouse.”
“We will continue to engage with the MMC to ensure that the statue that millions of taxpayers’ money had been spent on is not forgotten in some warehouse. Considering the huge service delivery challenges faced in the City of Ekurhuleni, we are not convinced this was the best way to spend public funds.”
DA’s Shadow MMC for Public Participation and Petitions in Ekurhuleni, Malcolm Maifala
Ekurhuleni blamed for “wasting taxpayer money”
The City of Ekurhuleni have approximately five weeks to meet their December deadline. Initially scheduled for an unveiling two years ago, their promises have fallen flat – and now the dithering has been exposed, the ANC face a race against time to put the OR Tambo statue in a dignified resting place.
