A local organisation formed to oppose the changing of Grahamstown's name will not attend a public participation meeting regarding the matter as they believe it's a waste of public resources.
A local organisation formed to oppose the changing of Grahamstown's name will not attend a public participation meeting regarding the matter as they believe it's a waste of public resources.
Keep Grahamstown Grahamstown (KGG) is even considering taking legal action against those facilitating the process.
Jock McConnachie of KGG says the organisation will not attend the public participation meeting and will not participate in any process concerning the name of Grahamstown since they had already participated fully in three previous processes since 2007, the outcome of which was not in favour of the name change.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Geographical Names Committee (ECPGNC) has invited members of the public to attend public hearings regarding applications for the standardisation of names of geographical features in Makana Municipality.
The meeting will take place at the Extension 6 Indoor Sports Centre on Thursday 19 November. There are three possible names which have been proposed should the name of Grahamstown be changed.
The options are Makhanda, Nxele or Rhini. McConnachie said the submissions that were made as part of the previous processes are still in the possession of Makana Municipality.
"We consider that any further process is a waste of public resources and energy," he said. The organisation also pointed out that the motivation for changing the name of Grahamstown in the current process is for historical reasons, whereas the previous motivation was that the name was offensive.
McConnachie said this is a significant shift and a concession that the previous processes were unable to show that the name was regarded as offensive.
"On the contrary the majority of those consulted were in favour of retaining the name Grahamstown, as was shown by a KGG poll as well as independent research conducted exclusively by the Rhodes University Institute of Social & Economic Research in Grahamstown’s township areas."
McConnachie further pointed out that whatever the historical motivation for changing the name – which has not been divulged although he says he has requested it – the name Grahamstown is historical and that there are strong reasons for retaining it alongside the name of Makana as the name of the greater municipality.
"We also wish to remind people that, according to the handbook of the South African Geographical Place Names Committee, it is preferable to retain existing names for historical and cultural reasons," he said.
The proposal to change the name is therefore, according to McConnachie, contrary to that fundamental principle. McConnachie advised that, although they will not attend the meeting and will not participate in any new name-change process, they are carefully monitoring the situation with a view to taking legal action if and when necessary.
Makana Municipality spokesperson Yoliswa Ramokolo said the municipality is using correct procedure and doesn't forsee any problems.
"We are following all the processes that need to be followed to ensure that we carry the process out successfully," she said.
anele@grocotts.co.za
