Brand Mandela 'cheapens legacy'

Icon's reputation is used to sell everything from T-shirts to coins and diamonds but his charities call for an end to the 'exploitation'.

The biggest statue of Nelson Mandela in South Africa stands outside a shopping mall.

JOHANNESBURG // The largest statue of Nelson Mandela in South Africa stands at the entrance to a shopping mall named after the anti-apartheid icon.Inside the complex, a coin dealer offers a "Free Mandela" - a Dh460 silver medallion  authorised by the Nobel Foundation - with any purchase over Dh7,000.
Everyone, it seems, would like to burnish their products with the lustre of the great man's reputation.
A Guernsey-based financial services company, Sirius, is to launch a fund next year investing in high-grade, rare-coloured gems, and has just announced its first purchase as the "Madiba Diamond", a 24-carat black stone dubbed with Mr Mandela's clan name.
"We are delighted to be associated with such a unique stone, the value of which transcends that of the stone itself and will forever be both a physical and symbolic reminder of the work of Nelson Mandela throughout the course of his life," said David Linsley, a partner in the firm.
It said the diamond's finder, Len Sacke, had sought and been given permission to name it after Mr Mandela.
But the former president's charitable organisations, which raise money for anti-HIV initiatives, education and reconciliation, among other issues, have had enough, and this week appealed for an end to "exploitation" of Mr Mandela's name.
"Mr Mandela is a champion of democracy and human rights not only in South Africa, but the world over," said Achmat Dangor, chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. "To use his name in such a crassly commercial manner as this 'diamond' proposal not only trivialises his leadership and sacrifice, but that of the millions of others who gave their lives and livelihoods in the name of what is good and right. "Neither Mr Mandela nor his staff can recall him consenting to have a diamond named after him," he said, adding that a quote provided by the company was "completely out of character with Mr Mandela".
A spokesman for Sirius declined to comment on the foundation's reaction.
Given Mr Mandela's iconic status, South Africa is just the most prominent section of a global marketplace for his image. Alan Demby, chairman of the South Africa Gold Coin Exchange, which markets the Nobel-authorised medallions, said demand for them was rising and compared Mr Mandela's "brand" status to that of Elvis Presley. The most expensive medallion in the range is made from half a kilo of platinum and costs more than Dh200,000. It is limited to 27 examples, one for each year he spent in prison.
"The way the brand conducts itself has proven itself to people," Mr Demby said. "He has kept his integrity, and I think people want to be associated with and align themselves with that. Who knows how big the Mandela brand can become?"
Under the terms of the Nobel endorsement agreement, Mr Mandela's organisations receive some royalties on their sales.
But Mr Dangor is frustrated at the way Mr Mandela, who turned 90 in July, has become a label. "We believe that Nelson Mandela's legacy and enormous contribution to democracy and humanity deserves not to be relegated to a name or a face on a T-shirt, or any other commodities sold for profit," he said. "It is precisely because of the affection for Mr Mandela around the world that we are appealing to people on this moral basis. "If they admire him as much as we are led to believe, then surely they would not want him to be turned into a commodity for the financial benefit of a few."
Nonetheless, given his charities' need to raise money for their own purposes, particularly to ensure their continuation after Mr Mandela's death, they have been accused of exploitation themselves. This year, 46664, Mr Mandela's anti-HIV organisation, launched a series of bangles emblazoned with his prison number. The cheapest, in silver, costs Dh800 and the most expensive, in platinum, retails for more than Dh55,000, and the foundation receives less than half the proceeds. "The manufacture and sale of these bangles is done with his consent and raises money for the campaign and also gives jobs to unemployed people, particularly single mothers, some of whom are affected by HIV and Aids," Mr Dangor said.
But Angela Quintal, group political editor for South Africa's Independent Newspapers, condemned it as a "gimmick" and "a bit of bling", "another tacky attempt to cash in on his fame".
"Is this what Madiba really wanted?" she wrote. "Is this the sort of materialism that has given credence to the view that some among us 'did not join the struggle to be poor'?" Telling him that "tacky commercialism has helped cheapen your name and the fight for liberation", she said: "The thousands of forgotten freedom fighters, who never jumped on or benefited from the Madiba b[r]andwagon, deserve more than this and, respectfully, Sir, so do you."
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