Challenge to Nelspruit renaming
2009-10-27 12:07
Mbombela - More than 600 businesses in Mpumalanga are seeking legal advice on how to challenge what is believed to have been a flawed name change process, following the renaming of Nelspruit to Mbombela.
The companies, which are represented by the Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (LCBT), argue that the consultation process conducted before Minister of Arts and Culture Lulu Xingwana gazetted the name change on October 16 was unfair.
“The chamber will take legal advice to establish the most effective way to proceed with their objection to the name change,” said the chamber's board correspondent, Linda Grimbeek.
“Our representatives are not aware of any consultation meetings they may have missed [as suggested by the name change committee last week],” she said.
Invitations
Grimbeek said consultation invitations from the provincial geographical names committee and the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) often arrived too late to accommodate the meetings.
“Invitations to these meetings were generally received on very short notice, and meetings were in most instances scheduled for inconvenient times. Despite this, we have always managed to send representatives,” she said.
Grimbeek said the chamber was once invited to a meeting that started at 09:00 on a Saturday, and by late that afternoon the name change had not been addressed.
“The chamber received the invitation the Wednesday prior to the meeting and sent two representatives who attended but left the meeting at 15:00 that afternoon, by which stage the issue of Nelspruit's name change had not yet been tabled,” said Grimbeek.
She said no programme for the meeting had been provided.
Grimbeek said the Lowveld region was host to many of the country's tourism destinations and travellers would be confused by the use of the name Mbombela.
Nelspruit not politically offensive
“The second main objection is that Nelspruit's name is not politically offensive in any way. The chamber consulted a reputable historian to attest to the facts and history of the name.”
The DA in Mpumalanga also questioned the name change.
“While the DA is not opposed to the changing of offensive or derogatory names, we question the motive behind changing names which are not offensive and non-political,” said DA provincial leader Anthony Benadie.
He said the DA was concerned about the process followed in the approval of some of the 42 name changes Xingwana gazetted.
“According to reports, the public had until 16 October to submit comments or objections relating to the proposed name changes. But this date was not widely publicised and few persons knew that the deadline for submissions had been set,” he said.
Costs
Benadie said name changes were expensive as they included the change of “everything from maps to sign boards and company names, and even international tourism campaigns”.
“Most of these costs are paid by you, the taxpayer," he said.
He added that Parliament had also stressed that names should only be changed if absolutely essential to provide justice and only after all facts had been considered.
“Both Parliament and the national government also stress that the economic costs and social benefits need to be carefully balanced to ensure that the system is not abused and does not unnecessarily waste scarce public resources,” he said.
But SAGNC councillor and provincial geographical names committee deputy chairperson Mpyane Ratau-Dlamini stuck to her guns, saying all necessary documents were available to prove that consultation was done.
“There is proof, including documents that show details of meetings, attendance registers, dates, times and venues where they were held,” said Ratau-Dlamini.
“The problem is that these complaints are arising from a small group. Yes, they have money, but the majority have a voice and they have spoken. We did not do our will here, but that of the people,” she said.