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A breakdown in communication among parks and recreation department staff led to the confusion over the placement of the statues, with some people in the department unaware of where they had come from.
Msunduzi municipal spokesperson Nqobile Madonda said on Wednesday that the problem had since been addressed.
“There was a slight breakdown in communication between the affected parties regarding the placing of statues in the municipal gardens, but that has since been clarified,” she said.
“After thorough investigation by the relevant managers, it was confirmed that the statues, if correctly positioned, were not harming the plants in the gardens and were not in contravention of bylaws.
“We trust that more residents will enjoy seeing these statues on their everyday travels,” she said.
With comments flooding The Witness’s Facebook page on Wednesday and Tuesday about wanting the statues to stay put, locals will be happy to know that the cartoon figures, which had been removed from the gardens, would return.
“I love this. Spider-Man made me laugh. It is brilliant that someone is creative enough to re-purpose stuff in storage instead of wasting money on new. Kudos to our horticultural department,” commented Gael Dewar on The Witness’s page.
“Very apt that he is near the casino too — keep the baddies away,” commented Dewar in a second post.
“Please put them back and maybe add some more, they are awesome,” said a comment by Tracy Cotchobos.
“Please put them back and let’s add more around the city,” was the plea from Jogayle Barnes Wahl.
Linda Laubscher said she loved the statues in the gardens and wanted them back.
The statues will be replaced around the city by the municipality and will be regulated and monitored.
Horticulturist Mbulaheni Tshivase, who is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the gardens, previously commented that he thought the statues detracted from his team’s hard work
