AfriForum wins Tshwane battle

2009-06-30 22:04

Pretoria - Civil rights movement AfriForum on Tuesday said it welcomed the ruling by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) over its complaint against the SABC.

AfriForum had complained to the BCCSA that the public broadcaster referred to Pretoria as Tshwane in television news bulletins.

"The ruling is a victory for all the people in the country who promote mutual respect among communities," said AfriForum chief executive officer Kallie Kriel.

The BCCSA has found that Tshwane has not been registered as a place name on the official database of the South Africa Geographical Names System. It also found that no legal basis existed upon which the city may be referred to as Tshwane.

AfriForum based its complaint on the fact that no other cities were called by their municipal names.

Kriel said the SABC would not be fined, and the commission was not imposing any action - unless the use of Tshwane when referring to Pretoria was repeated.

"The ruling stands. Should the SABC continue referring to Pretoria as Tshwane, they will be liable to a fine," he said.

- SAPA