Durban street name changes come under fire.

[Dave A]

Trouble is stirring about the proposed Durban street name changes. Reading this article I can see why.

Opposition parties are set to march through Durban on Workers' Day on May 1 in protest against the eThekwini municipality's proposed name changes of streets and buildings.

Announcing the march in Durban on Tuesday, the Inkatha Freedom Party's (IFP) eThekwini caucus leader, Themba Nzuza, said the IFP would be marching "against the blatantly flawed" process.

The Democratic Alliance's (DA) eThekwini caucus leader John Steenhuisen called on DA supporters to join the march.

Nzuza said names submitted for the renaming of streets had been to the exclusion of all other parties. The IFP has been particularly incensed since it was announced several weeks ago that the Mangosuthu Buthelezi Highway would be renamed.

Nzuza also accused the African National Congress (ANC) of insulting the Zulu royal family with the call to rename the Princess Magogo Stadium after Dumisane Makhaye, an ANC provincial minister of housing who died two years ago.

"The renaming has nothing to do with removing apartheid icons," she said.

During the past weekend several newspapers carried advertisements with the proposed list of name changes.

One of the more controversial name changes -- resulting in numerous letters of objection to local newspapers -- has been renaming of Kingsway Road in Amanzimtoti to "Andrew Zondo Road". Zondo (19) was sentenced to death in September 1986 for planting a bomb in a rubbish bin at the Amanzimtoti centre in December 1985. Two women and three children were killed. Scores more were injured.

Steenhuisen questioned why Rockdale Drive in Westville had to be renamed after the KwaZulu-Natal premier's son, who died on the road in a car accident.

"Are we going to rename every road after somebody who died in a car accident? We will be mobilising people to object. The process and choice of many of the names is deliberately provocative," he said.

Speaking about the call to rename Kingsway Road after Zondo, he said: "It's almost akin to renaming a street in New York after Osama bin Laden. It's highly insensitive."

The African Christian Democratic Party's provincial leader Andrew Thring said the party had not decided whether to join the march, but he personally was in favour of the protest.

"I am not opposed to the renaming, but I am opposed to the process. And some of the names are deliberately insensitive."

Both Nzuza and Steenhuisen said that despite repeated requests to see the original list of who submitted the proposed name changes, they had not received copies.

"These submissions have not been made available to any committee on the council to date," said Steenhuisen.
full story on M&G here

When I heard that name changes were coming, my first thought was if they might have included Robert McBride (the Magoos bomber) and just how much he might have contributed to the building of Durban in comparison to some of the old colonials whose names will no doubt be set down for removal in due course.

I need not have worried. The provocation goes well beyond honouring urban terrorists. Renaming Mangosuthu Buthelezi Highway and Princess Magogo Stadium after members of the ANC cadre? Methinks the ANC's version of conciliation is about to be sorely examined.

[stephanfx]

One of the more controversial name changes -- resulting in numerous letters of objection to local newspapers -- has been renaming of Kingsway Road in Amanzimtoti to "Andrew Zondo Road". Zondo (19) was sentenced to death in September 1986 for planting a bomb in a rubbish bin at the Amanzimtoti centre in December 1985. Two women and three children were killed. Scores more were injured.

You have got to be kidding me, renaming a street after a bombing murderer, next we will see serial killers and rapists names everywhere
I do not mind name changes, to people who fought against apartheid in a civilized manner, but come on, bombing is just $@*$@#&@!

[Sieg]

For those who want to sign the petition to oppose the street naming fiasco, please e mail me and I will forward it to you. It can be e mailed back to me: I will collect the names and will forward these to the DA.

One of the proposed renamings is Broadway in Durban North to SWAPO. Another proposal is a street road to be named after Fidel Castro. Just ask the Cubans living in Miami who fled his tyranny what they think about that.

e mail address is sieg@legalfirm.co.za.

Sorry, Dave, don't want to use the Forum for political issues. However, this madness must stop. We must start getting our priorities right.

Sieg

[Snoopy_inc]

Sieg dont worry i think we all on the same side here.

I will agree with you. Can somone post when the march will take place as i would gladly join in with regards to that... tis time that the government did something about the problems and not focus on issues that mean next to nothing in ones life.

[Dave A]

Opposition parties are set to march through Durban on Workers' Day on May 1 in protest against the eThekwini municipality's proposed name changes of streets and buildings.

Need to check on the time and meeting venue.

I'd like to find a full list of those name changes too.

@ Sieg. My personal focus might be on how politics is interfering with good business, but well reasoned political debate and commentary on other issues is not a problem round here either. Go for it, mate. If it takes off I'll set up a forum area for it.

[Dave A]

Google to the rescue (and this thread came in at number 2 )

The list of proposed changes can be found on the *link expired*
This is a page with *link expired*, although I think it might be an idea to channel it via Sieg seeing as he's put his hand up.

[Dave A]

I thought it might be an idea to post some Google based research on the new names. So here is a start:

Josiah Gumede: From a cached Google page here
Josiah Tshangana Gumede 1870 - 1947. He was a teacher, politician, businessman and journalist, sometimes incorrectly referred to as 'James'. Past president general of the ANC (1927).

Govan Mbeki: From Wikipedia here
Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki (9 July 1910 - 30 August 2001) was a South African politician, and father of Thabo Mbeki, the current President of South Africa. He was a leader of the African National Congress (ANC) and of the South African Communist Party.

Phila Ndwandwe: Google search results here
Phila Ndwandwe was an MK operative based in Swaziland. She was tortured and killed by the police in 1988.

King Cetshwayo: From Wikipedia here
Cetshwayo kaMpande (circa 1826 – February 8, 1884) was the king of the Zulu nation from 1872 to 1879 and their leader during the Zulu War.

Denis Hurley: From Wikipedia here
Denis Eugene Hurley (9th November 1915 - 13th February 2004) was born in Cape Town, spending his early years on Robben Island where his father was the lighthouse keeper. Hurley was an outspoken opponent of apartheid and in 1984 was charged with contravenening the South African police act by publishing incorrect information about atrocities committed in Namibia by the South African military unit known as Koevoet

Dr Monty Naicker: From a cached Google page here
Gagathura (Monty) Mohambry Naicker (1910 - 1978) was a medical doctor and prominent politician. Naicker was in favour of co-operation between Indians and Africans against the prevailing government. This led to the alliance between the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Indian Congress (SAIC), and the so-called Doctors' Pact of March 1947 in which the intention to co-operate was clearly spelled out, the signatories being Naicker, Dr Y M Dadoo (president of the Transvaal Indian Congress) and Dr A B Xuma (president of the ANC).

[Dave A]

Yasser Arafat: From Wikipedia here
Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (August 24, 1929 - November 11, 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat, was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; 1969–2004) and President[2] of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA; 1993–2004). In 1994 Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, for the negotiation of the 1993 Oslo Peace Accord.

Gopalal Hurbans: Not much useful on Google.

Gopal Hurbins: Not much useful on Google.

Mthoko Mkhize:
Musician of Mthoto Mkhize and the Vuthela Queens fame.

Msizi Dube: From cached Google page here
Msizi Harrison Dube, known as 'the hero of Lamontville', mobilised a township community in the struggle against apartheid and corrupt local government structures. He was assassinated in 1983.

Mahatma Gandhi: at Wikipedia here
I sincerely hope no introduction is needed.

Jabu Ngcobo: Google result here
South African trades unionist. Regional Secretary for Africa - International Textile Garment and Leather Workers Federation.

[Dave A]

It seems things are moving ahead with some speed.

With the street renaming process moving full steam ahead, the chairperson of the name change committee is bracing herself for a heated debate when the eagerly-awaited report is tabled at a special meeting on Wednesday.

Zandile Gumede, chairperson of the Masakhane Committee, indicated that "it is certainly not going to be easy" come Wednesday, when the IFP, DA and other parties clash over the report to determine whether almost 200 streets in the region will be renamed.

Gumede and the other 23 members of the committee will only receive the lengthy report on Monday, and they will be going through it ahead of Wednesday's meeting at the City Hall.

This part is quite interesting to me.

Gumede said that although thousands of objections had poured into the offices of Corporate Geographic Information Systems (CGIS), the committee "will only be looking at the genuine objections received from the public, not just any piece of objection."

Late last week, Siyabonga Mngadi, deputy head of CGIS, said only 120 of the more than 12 000 reactions contained valid and reasonable objections.
extracts from IOL report here

Now I don't recall any criteria being published with the invitation to submit comments. Is it possible so many comments were so poorly motivated as not to be considered? With only 120 comments deemed worthy, could the process itself be deemed unprocedural due to non-disclosure?

[Graeme]

The only way to handle this is for the people in each street to decide upon their street's name: i.e. to maintain the status quo, or else propose a change. That is the democratic way. If the ANC will not allow democracy to operate, then they must say so and be revealed for what they are.