Note to editors: You can download sound clips in English and Afrikaans from Leander Kruger MPL
The Democratic Alliance will demand the full public participation record relating to proposed name changes for Lady Grey, Sterkspruit, and Herschel, amid serious questions about whether affected communities have been given a proper opportunity to have their say.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Geographical Names Committee (ECPGNC) is considering applications to rename Lady Grey to Inkosi Makhobeni, Herschel to Inkosi Lihlongo, and Sterkspruit to Inkosi Mpangazi. Mapetla Mohapi has also been proposed as an alternative name for Sterkspruit.
Correspondence from the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC) invited stakeholders of the Senqu Local Municipality to a meeting at Bensonvale Hall last week to discuss these applications.
What remains unclear is whether this stakeholder meeting formed part of a properly advertised public participation process, who was invited to participate, how widely residents were informed, and what opportunity was provided for those unable to attend to make written submissions.
When DSRAC advertised public hearings in Senqu in May last year, the proposed changes under consideration included Barkly East and several geographical features in the area. Lady Grey, Sterkspruit, and Herschel were not among the town names listed in that notice.
Public participation cannot simply become a procedural formality used to legitimise decisions that have effectively already been taken.
The DA has seen this movie before.
Earlier this year, more than 38 000 objections were submitted against name changes affecting Graaff-Reinet, East London, Aberdeen, Adendorp, and Barkly East after residents raised serious concerns about the consultation process.
Government should have learnt from that experience.
I will therefore write to DSRAC MEC Sibulele Ngongo requesting the complete record relating to the Lady Grey, Sterkspruit, and Herschel applications, including the original applications and motivations, research conducted, proof of public notices and advertisements, minutes and attendance registers from consultation meetings, all written comments and objections received, and any recommendations already made by the ECPGNC.
We also want clarity on whether further public hearings will be held before these applications proceed to the South African Geographical Names Council.
The DA supports redress, reconciliation, and the recognition of our diverse history. But forced or poorly consulted name changes do not unite communities. Meaningful consultation requires that residents be informed before decisions are made, given a genuine opportunity to participate, and assured that their views have been considered.
Decisions affecting the names, identities, and heritage of communities cannot simply be imposed from above.
Government should be focused on changing lives, not names. At the very least, when it chooses changing names, it must listen to the people who live there.