NDZ: Renaming Municipality After Winnie Is Good for 'Service Delivery'
- The renaming of the Mbizana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape is said to be beneficial to community members
- The Mbizana Municipality will be renamed after the late struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
- Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will deliver a keynote address at the renaming on Wednesday, 31 March
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Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has announced the name change of the Eastern Cape Municipality Mbizana. The municipality will be renamed in honour of anti-apartheid activist and struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister is expected to deliver a keynote address on Wednesday, 31 March regarding the renaming process. The change was reportedly gazetted at the beginning of the month.
Cogta's website stated that the renaming serves the community as Mama Winnie did, adding that the name change pays homage to the late icon's ideals and values.
Source: Getty Images
According to BusinessTech, the name change has faced some sort of controversy since its announcement. The report continued by saying that the ANC Free State branch said the renaming process is essential for speedy service delivery.
The provincial branch of the ruling party believes that the renaming programmes and naming programmes should be used to their fullest as communities are directly involved in the process.
The Cogta website went on to say that the newly-named municipality needed to live up to the expectations and its new name. The statement said that Mama Winnie was a 'champion' of the poor and that this renaming is an important step towards making sure that the municipality serves the community.
In similar news, Briefly.co.za reported that the City of Johanessburg wants its residents' input on the renaming process of William Nicol Drive. In 2020, the City of Johannesburg began proceedings to rename William Nicol Drive after late struggle veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
The city promised to conduct a thorough process involving the community.
The city wants residents' input into the name change and the process has now begun and the city has released information on how people can take part.
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.
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Source: Briefly News
