By Nangamso Mabindla
13 November 2006

NELSON Mandela can add yet another accolade to his ever-growing collection - he has been awarded the freedom of Nereto, in Italy.

Nereto is 200 kilometres from Rome, and Buffalo City Executive Mayor Zintle Peter travelled to the town to accept the award on 10 November on behalf of the international icon and South Africa's first democratically elected state president.

Mandela hails from the Eastern Cape. Premier Nosimo Balindlela could not attend the event, and she asked Peter to do the honours. The event was doubly significant for Buffalo City as it will be the home of the Multi-cultural Man, a statue made by sculptor Francesco Perili and donated to Heroes' Park by the Italian consul on behalf of the Nereto municipality.

To be handed over to the Heroes' Park board in December, it will be the fourth such statue in the world. There is one in Toronto in Canada, in Sarajevo in Bosnia, and in Changchum in China.

Speaking at the event, Peter said that she was honoured to have been chosen to accept the freedom of Nereto on behalf of Mandela.

"It is indeed a great privilege for me, both personally and as the executive mayor of Buffalo City municipality, to stand before you today to accept this outstanding honour on behalf of Dr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and the people of South Africa," she said.

Speaking about the Multi-cultural Man statue, she said that the City was very honoured to be the only African home of the statue.

"We are doubly honoured that our city and our province have been chosen to be the continental home of the sculpture of Multi-cultural Man by Francesco Perilli, whom we believe hails from your village," Peter said.

"The sculpture affirms the fact that, as Dr Mandela said, 'We might have differences, but we are one people with a common destiny, although we have different cultures, races and traditions.'"

It was great to know that other people shared the same vision as Mandela. Peter also commended the Heroes' Park board and its chairman, Daya Appavoo, for the role they had played in bringing the statue to the East London beachfront.