Mawande Jack
Names of liberation struggle heroes such as Steve Biko, Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge as well Xhosa kings will soon replace colonial, racist and offensive names of places in the Eastern Cape.
There are already proposals to rename East London Airport after the great Xhosa king Zanzolo (Hintsa) or Steve Biko, the black consciousness leader who died in detention.
The name change process is expected to start in the next two months when members of the provincial geographical names committee crisscross the province holding public hearings and gathering views from different communities on the proposed names.
Since the process started in 2003, the committee has received submissions on what towns like Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage, Grahamstown, Alice, Cradock, Queenstown, East London, Port Alfred and Fort Beaufort, including their suburbs, should be called.
A shortlist has been presented and advertisements have been placed in local newspapers announcing forums for discussion during the hearings.
Geographical names committee member Mlawu Tyatyeka said the exercise was not merely about changing names but to “standardise them to their original names”. “We are trying to do away with imposing names that do not have relevance to the history of communities,” Tyatyeka said.
Some of the names communities have found offensive include Boesmanfontein, Boesmanriviermond, Kaffirskraal and Kaffiershoek, which designate small towns of marginalised Xhosa and coloured communities.
The process has not been smooth, however. There have been strong disagreements among communities about the proposed renaming of Grahamstown to Nxele, after the great Xhosa warrior who fought against the British.
Names like Port Elizabeth could change to Ibhayi, Uitenhage to Qhagqiwa, East London to Gompo and King Williamstown to Qonce, depending on whether consensus has been reached among the various stakeholders.
Tyatyeka said once the process had been completed, new names would be gazetted and declared official within a period of five years. He said dates and venues for the public hearings would be published soon.
mawandej@thenewage.co.za
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Article source: http://www.thenewage.co.za/42809-1016-53-Name_changes_coming