Graaff-Reinet will always be Graaff-Reinet – and not Robert Sobukwe Town – to the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus). The party, therefore, calls on the people of Graaff-Reinet, the broader Eastern Cape and the rest of South Africa to ignore the name change.
This geographical name change along with 20 others – such as East London to KuGompo City – was recently published in the Government Gazette by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie.
This not only proves that limited public funds are being spent on misguided priorities, but it is also a blatant example of cultural imperialism in which Afrikaner cultural history is annihilated under the pretext of so-called social cohesion.
It has become customary to expect Afrikaners, and only Afrikaners, to sacrifice their heritage on the altar to appease the rest. We refuse to keep doing it.
So, the Freedom Front Plus implores everyone who values the name Graaff-Reinet to remain loyal to the name, which is inextricably part of everyone in the country’s shared heritage and national identity.
More than thirty years have passed since the beginning of the new political dispensation and yet there is still this needless meddling – such as changing names – which benefits no-one.
These steps create division and waste taxpayers’ money, while urgent problems such as job creation, infrastructure and safety are ignored.
The Freedom Front Plus rejects Graaff-Reinet’s name change and will rectify it at the first opportunity that arises.
The name Graaff-Reinet dates to 1786 and honours Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff, a Dutch governor of the Cape Colony under the VOC, and his wife, Cornelia Reynet. In 1795, citizens rid themselves of VOC taxes and established the short-lived Republic of Graaff-Reinet. Much later, in the 1830s, Graaff-Reinet was also the point of departure for the Great Trek.
Afrikaners, and previous dispensations, did not change the name seeing as it forms part of South Africa’s colourful and multifaceted history.
No-one benefits from erasing parts of history that some people may not like. It merely results in a narrowed and distorted image of everyone’s heritage while unnecessarily sowing division.
Freedom Front Plus Name Change: The party changed its name to Freedom Front Plus in 2003.
First Published here: MyZA.co.za
Did You Know?
- Cradock was founded in 1813 on the banks of the Great Fish River to cater for the migratory farmers who settled in this ruggedly beautiful area with its excellent grazing, abundant water and healthy climate.
- Cradock was officially renamed Nxuba on 26 August 2022. This change was officially gazetted by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, and it was part of a broader effort to rename towns with colonial or apartheid legacies in the Eastern Cape.
- Home to an actual Harry Potter’s grave: A British soldier with the name Harry Potter, who died during the South African War (Anglo-Boer War), is buried in the Cradock cemetery. His grave was discovered in 2002, long before the fictional character became a global phenomenon.
- Location of the last surrender of arms in the South African War: Cradock was the final place in South Africa where arms were officially laid down at the end of the South African War, with the event occurring four days after the Peace of Vereeniging was signed in 1902.
- Birthplace of Afrikaans publication: The first-ever article published in the Afrikaans language appeared in the local newspaper, the Cradock News, on December 4, 1868. This was a report on the separation of the Eastern Cape from the Western Cape, and the paper achieved the largest circulation in the country at the time.
- Second oldest cricket ground and library in South Africa: Cradock’s cricket ground and library are both the second oldest in the entire country, a testament to the town’s early establishment and development of civic amenities.
- Host to a total solar eclipse viewing by a Prime Minister: In 1942, the South African statesman and Prime Minister Jan Smuts came specifically to Cradock to witness a total eclipse of the sun, as the town was the best location for viewing the celestial event.