Unveiling of Mpumalanga Madiba statue raises serious budget questions

Statues of Nelson Mandela are no strangers to controversy.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled one at the UN in New York, as did Premier Refilwe Mtshweni in Mbombela on Friday, reports Lowvelder.

The postures and facial expressions more often than not draw confusion from the general public for their questionable likeness to the country’s first democratically elected president.

ALSO READ: UN statue of Mandela ridiculed for looking like ‘Robert de Niro’

In the case of the newly unveiled Madiba, located at the entrance to the Mpumalanga Legislature, the loudest question being posed is, however, how it cost taxpayers R8.5 million for the whole project.

Different cultures joined together to celebrate the day.

The statue and renaming of buildings at the government complex in Riverside was announced by then-premier David Mabuza during his state of the province address, delivered days before he was appointed Ramaphosa’s deputy.

The awarding took place in an open bid. Mideast Investment was appointed the service provider for the statue for R8.3 million. The sole director is Mishkah Theron, 25.

According to Sibongile Nkosi, director of communications for the department of culture, sport and recreation, which was tasked with erecting the six-metre bronze statue: “The department had set aside a budget of R8.5 million for the designing, manufacturing, and installation” of the project.

Some of the plaques that were placed on the pillars.

It has been widely reported that the artists charged only around R950,000 for the actual statue.

According to the bid document: “use of the space should be creative yet subtly convey the liberation story in Mpumalanga”.

Nkosi explained that the R8.5 million was used for the following: design and artwork, clay modelling of marquette, clay modelling of life-size armature, stainless steel structure of the monument, scaling, mould, plinth marble, plinth concrete, transport of statue and erection. Also in the cost was the integration of other struggle icons (cenotaph) and the celebration events.

Building one was renamed the Boabab building.

Mtshweni said in her speech during the unveiling celebrations that it was decided to rename Building One the Baobab Building.

“This name was derived from the Order of the Baobab, which is the most prestigious South African civilian honour awarded for exemplary service in business and the economy, science, medicine, technological innovation, and community involvement,” Mtshweni said.

The other buildings have been renamed as follows: Makhonjwa (Building Two), Indwe (Building Three), Nokuthula Simelane (Building Four), Ikhamanga (Building Five), Samora Machel (Building Six), Rhino (Building Seven), and Mgwenya (Building Eight).

One of the plaques was engraved with Albertina Sisulu’s name. She would also have celebrated her 100th birthday this year, and a special mention of her achievements was also made during the celebration ceremony.

The new statue in front of the Boabab Building.

What the department would say was that Mideast Investment conformed to the prescripts set out by supply chain management. The various criteria on functionality held that bids which scored low on the functionality threshold were disqualified.

Crucially, a minimum of 60 points on functionality were required, and the winning bidder had to demonstrate that it would be able to complete the project within three months.

Theron could not be reached by Lowvelder on the various numbers provided on Mideast Investment’s CIPRO account, nor could the newspaper gain access to her offices, located in a security complex in the city, to obtain comment from the service provider.

White doves were released with the unveiling of the statue.

The DA in Mpumalanga has since weighed in, saying that the best way to have honoured Mandela would have been to prioritise education, health care, and service delivery.

Jane Sithole, the party’s provincial leader and premier candidate, said in a statement: “The ANC in Mpumalanga has developed a tendency to use Nelson Mandela’s name and memory as a disguise for dubious financial dealings such as the R70 million given to Carol Bouwer’s company for (his) memorial services along with R5 million for a Nelson Mandela video, commissioned by the office of the premier that has never seen the light of day.

“The DA is still awaiting a report from the public protector on the R70 million spent on Nelson Mandela’s memorial services. We will also write to the AG to ensure that public money was not abused in the procurement of this statue.”

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