eThekwini’s R22m statues v basic services is a question of priorities

As the eThekwini Municipality plans to spend R22 million on statues honouring freedom fighters, the city is battling with collapsing infrastructure, water shortages and sewage crises. DA mayoral candidate Haniff Hoosen argues that true respect for our heroes means prioritising service delivery over symbolic spending

- Haniff Hoosen

DA MAYORAL Candidate Haniff Hoosen at the Durban beachfront where one of the statues is being erected. eThekwini Municipality plans to spend R22m on statues to honour our freedom fighters.

(Supplied)

OUR history is unique. Nowhere else in the world has a country walked a path that we did and survived the way we have. This is the beauty of South Africa where citizens always chose growth over destruction. And we owe it to those who sacrificed their entire lives for the freedoms we enjoy today. Our freedom story is carved into the memory of this city by men and women who stood tall when everything else sank into fear.

The real irony of the story today, is that we destroy the very freedoms that those before us fought for, when we make embarrassing decisions in their name.

One such embarrassing decision is the one taken by the eThekwini Municipality to spend R22 million on statues to honour our freedom fighters. On the face of it, the decision seems like a noble idea.

But when you consider a myriads service delivery backlogs and crises the city is facing, there can be no justification whatsoever for this decision.