KZN parties battle over street names

2011-09-21 19:00

Durban - The ANC could be compelled by the Supreme Court of Appeal to halt its bid to rename the Mangosuthu Highway in Umlazi, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday.

The DA approached the Durban Magistrate's Court in 2008 to fight the ANC on its street renaming process. The DA contended that the process was flawed because interested parties were not consulted.

"We lost the case last year, and opted to appeal against the judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein," Zwakele Mncwango said.

Judgment was expected in November.

James Nxumalo, eThekwini mayor, announced on Friday that the city would go ahead with the renaming of Mangosuthu Highway in Umlazi after ANC activist Griffiths Mxenge.

Mncwango warned that the issue could lead to political instability.

"We believe this issue has the potential to bring back political intolerance that plagued KZN for much of the 1990s," he said.

Mncwango said that in 2008 the IFP threatened to march and make the city ungovernable if the ruling party renamed Mangosuthu highway.

"The ANC is not interested in reconciliation and is guilty of using apartheid styled tactics of divide and rule by imposing decisions on the citizens of Durban."

The DA was not against the renaming of streets as long as this was done in a consultative manner that promoted nation building.

"We will be tabling the issue of the Mangosuthu Highway at the next multi-party meeting that deals with political intolerance in KwaZulu-Natal," Mncwango said.

- SAPA