KAROO NEWS - An urgent motion against the proposed name changes of towns in the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality was brought before the council by Councillor Eldrige Ruiters on behalf of the DA at the ordinary council meeting on Tuesday, 12 December 2023.
The proposed name changes are:
- Robert Sobukwe or Fred Hufkie for Graaff-Reinet
- Kwa Mseki Bishop Limba for Adendorp
- Camdeboo for Aberdeen
- Kwa Noheleni for Nieu-Bethesda
The proposal was announced by Mark Mandita, a representative of the Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, during a special council meeting on 29 August.
At the time, Mandita asserted that the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act prohibits the department from disclosing the identities of the two applicants who proposed these name changes.
On Tuesday, Cllr Ruiters moved that the council take note of these unknown applications and stated that, given the massive implications of the proposed name changes, the DA cannot find any justification for withholding information relating to the identities of the applicants.
He further stated that the DA is in support of redressing the injustices of the past but is of the opinion that the proposed name changes are not the solution.
To redress past injustices of the past and restore people’s dignity, we need to find ways of improving lives through service delivery, employment opportunities, and economic growth and name changes to accomplish none of these said Ruiters.
“Our focus should be on changing lives, not changing names,” he emphasized. Ruiters, therefore, moved council to resolve that no name changes must be done and that this resolution must be sent to the Eastern Cape Provincial Geographic Names Committee (ECPGNC). The motion was supported by the DA with nine votes and the FF+ with one vote.
The ANC (10 votes) and CSA (one vote) did not support the motion and submitted an alternative proposal that the name change process must go ahead. The latter was therefore accepted with 11 votes against 10.
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