Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Is the New Name of Mbizana Local Municipality
- Mbizana local municipality has been renamed after struggle veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
- The consultation process was undertaken and it was supported by the community
- The municipality will officially change its name on the 1st of April
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Mbizana local municipality has been renamed after struggle veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela as a means to honour her for her part in ending the oppressive apartheid regime.
Provincial co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Xolile Nqatha gazetted the name change. Mbizana will officially change names on the first of April.
Cogta spokesperson Mamnkeli Ngam confirmed that the municipality will change names according to Sowetan Live.
Source: Facebook
Ngam said that the name change had been supported when consultations were held.
There have been numerous calls for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to be honoured in the past, at one point the idea to rename Cape Town International Airport after the struggle veteran was suggested.
The plan to rename Cape Town International Airport has been shelved, say reports. The news comes after there was a reported deadlock on which historic icon to name the international airport after.
The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture said the public consultation process reached a point where the renaming was ditched. During the meeting names such as Krotoa and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Airport were proposed.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are pushing for another city to change its name. The political party wants to change the name of Durban, claiming that the city's name is racist.
“D’Urban, a British colonial administrator who was denounced by his fellow colonialist John Phillip as a racist who treated Africans as animals,” it said.
The South African reported that the EFF hopes that the ruling party, the ANC, will continue to change names of South African cities to more accurately reflect the people living there, not stopping at Gqeberha but changing Durban next and then cities in the Western Cape.
In other news, Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Nqaba Bhanga has requested in writing that Port Elizabeth remains the name of the city. He claims that Gqeberha has no meaning for the people living there. He has requested that Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa reverse the name change.
His spokesperson, Morne Steyn confirmed that the mayor is against the renaming of the city. He said that the mayor does not believe that the name is inclusive.
Bhanga believes that Gqeberha has no isiXhosa meaning and the city should still be called Port Elizabeth. An online petition has been signed by more than 48 000 people calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to change the name back to PE according to News24.
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Source: Briefly News
