Fights over names might end in court

Date: 10 October 2003 By: 

At least two court cases are already in the preparatory phase, to have contentious decisions about geographical name changes in the province reversed. In Makhado (Louis Trichardt), both the Chamber of Commerce and the Chairpersons Committee, as well as the Hlanganani Concerned Group, have already formally announced their intention to take the purported name change of the town of Louis Trichardt to the highest possible court.

This week an organisation, styled as the Northern Transvaal Place Names Committee, also announced its intention to take the Limpopo Government to court over the renaming of Pietersburg to Polokwane. The committee, under the chairmanship of Dr Willie Snyman, represents political, cultural and business groupings.

In an interview this week, Dr Snyman said the provincial government has already spent R40 million on changing the name of the province and the efforts to change the name of Pietersburg have led to the loss of huge amounts of foreign trade, lost through the predictable confusion which resulted from the whole name-changing venture. He said the whole name-changing process was unconstitutional. Although some members of the public took part in the consultative meetings, these meetings were not carried out according to the prescriptions of the relevant law. Dr Snyman said initially there were petitions, a memorandum and a protest march in Pietersburg, to object to the high-handed handling of the issue. The authorities nonetheless proceeded with its one-sided actions. He said legal advice has been taken and an advocate will be appointed to institute legal action.

His committee will concentrate on Polokwane, but its action might lead to disgruntled residents of other towns also taking up the fight. He said the reckless and shortsighted attitude of officialdom is apparent in the absurd history of the international airport in the capital city of the province. Initially it was named the Gateway Airport, causing large-scale confusion amongst international airfreight operators. The name had to be changed back to Pietersburg International Airport, regardless of the purported changing of the name of the city of Pietersburg to Polokwane – a name that is unknown and non-existent on international air maps. In Louis Trichardt, the promulgation of the name of Makhado resulted in official objections being launched with the Minister of Arts and Culture, within the period of thirty days which the act allows. The Minister's reaction to these formal objections is still being awaited. Mr André Naudé, Chairman of the Chairpersons Association and member of the Soutpansberg Chamber of Commerce, stated on Wednesday that the Minister's office has been put on terms to react to these formal objections within thirty days.

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