New Madiba statue to be unveiled as part of Mandela Day events

The Mandela family will unveil yet another statue of former president Nelson Mandela at his birthplace in Mvezo at the weekend.

This as the Eastern Cape marks Nelson Mandela International Day through community service projects celebrating the legacies of Madiba, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Oliver Tambo.

The unveiling, led by Mandela’s eldest grandson and head of the Mvezo Traditional Council, Nkosi Mandla Mandela, forms part of a programme aimed at taking Mandela Day back to the birthplace of SA’s first democratic president, where organisers say his values of service, dignity and ubuntu first took root.

The commemorations will also honour the shared legacies of Madikizela-Mandela and Tambo, with separate events taking place in Mbizana, where Madikizela-Mandela was born, while organisers say the programme recognises the contribution of all three liberation icons to SA’s democracy.

At Mvezo Great Place on Saturday, Mandla will oversee the unveiling of the statue before launching a series of sporting activities in Mandela’s honour.

The programme also includes the unveiling of new heritage road signs along the N2 directing visitors to Mandela’s birthplace in Mvezo and his final resting place in Qunu.

Residents and visitors will also participate in a Fun Walk and Run to Mvezo Great Place.

“This is aimed at promoting health and unity in the spirit of Madiba’s call to serve,” Mandla said.

The Mvezo programme will include a 67 minutes community service campaign, during which volunteers will clean public facilities, fit windows and cut grass, while the launch of the Mandela Marathon and soccer and netball tournaments aims to create lasting opportunities for youth participation.

Sport, recreation, arts and culture MEC Sibulele Ngongo will hand over early childhood development and sports equipment to Nolusapho Mandela, Makgatho Lewanika Mandela Primary School, Mandela School of Science & Technology and Ludondolo Primary School.

“In a symbolic gesture marking what would have been Nkosi Dalibhunga Mandela’s 108th birthday, Mvezo Komkhulu will also distribute 108 food parcels and blankets to families in the area,” Mandla said.

Nelson Mandela Museum spokesperson Nontlahla Tandwa-Dalindyebo said the commemorations were about preserving the values shared by Mandela, Madikizela-Mandela and Tambo.

“This is more than a Mandela Day event — it is a celebration of freedom, service, education, environmental sustainability and social justice in a community deeply connected to the lives of Mandela, Tambo and Madikizela-Mandela,” she said.

Mandla said commemorating Mandela in his birthplace was a reminder that his legacy lived through service.

“We will gather in Mvezo to live the values Tata taught us — service, dignity and ubuntu.

“These 67 minutes and the support we give to our children through sport and education are how we keep his legacy alive in the place where it all began,” he said.

The official provincial Mandela Day commemoration will, meanwhile, take place at Meje Senior Primary School in the AmaNgutyana administrative area near Mbizana, a short distance from Madikizela-Mandela’s birthplace in Mbhongweni village.

The event will be led by sport, arts and culture deputy minister Peace Mabe and Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane under this year’s Mandela Day theme: “It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequity.”

Declared by the UN in 2009, Mandela Day encourages people around the world to devote 67 minutes of service to their communities in honour of the 67 years Mandela spent fighting for human rights.

In Mbizana, the commemorations will include the revival of the school’s vegetable garden with donated seedlings and equipment, the planting of indigenous and fruit trees, classroom improvements through paint donations and “services on wheels”, bringing home affairs, health, education, social development, NSFAS and other government services directly to residents.

The programme begins on Friday with an inter-school sports tournament involving eight schools, with the winners to be honoured during Saturday’s official ceremony.

Elsewhere in the province, the department of water and sanitation will launch the National Water Access Acceleration Programme and officially unveil the Mncwasa Water Scheme at Mqanduli on Saturday.

The Amathole District Municipality, South African National Defence Force and Mbhashe Local Municipality will also mark Mandela Day through water projects, school rehabilitation, cleaning campaigns and the distribution of relief material to vulnerable communities.

Daily Dispatch