South Africans have questioned the government's priorities amid an economic crisis and jobs bloodbath worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The uproar was caused by the unveiling the statue of Oliver Tambo erected at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday.
In the 9m tall bronze statue, Tambo is holding the Freedom Charter and has an ANC logo.
Some citizens voiced their conerns on the 13 million rand spent on the statue on social, to which Ramaphosa said he was aware some people were not happy about the amount spent on the statue but it is far, far minuscule compared to sacrifices made by the ANC's longest-serving leader and the returns expected from the tourist attraction.
Some ANC critics were not pleased that the statue wears an ANC badge.
But Ramaphosa further defended the the statue saying it will be a major tourist attraction.