While major announcements in respect of name changes of Northern Cape institutions have been made by the Premier, the Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned about how the process will unfold in the absence of a Provincial Geographical Names Committee (PGNC).
In his State of the Province Address in February this year, Dr Zamani Saul announced a number of name changes in the pipeline, including those of the Kimberley and Upington Airports.
Following the surprise announcements made by Dr Saul in February this year, the DA has established that the Minister for Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, wrote to MEC Desiree Fienies just last month, requesting the province to establish a PGNC, as the Northern Cape remains the only province without this committee.
We therefore have to question the Premier’s announcement on name changes, as it seems that he has put the cart before the horse.
This highlights the failure of provincial government and perhaps specifically the MEC herself, to comply with section 2 (2)(a) of the South African Geographical Names Council South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC), No. 118 of 1998. This piece of legislation states that Provincial Geographical Names Committees are to be established by the provincial department responsible for arts and culture after consultation with the SAGNC, and that the committee must accept that any procedure executed in the naming process must be conducted in terms of this act.
The Premier must indicate what processes led to his jumping the gun with his big announcement earlier this year.
MEC Fienies further needs to be held accountable for her poor leadership that continues to tarnish the already unreliable reputation of her department.
The DA is in the process of engaging with the MEC and her department to fast track the establishment of a PGNC, without which no name changes can take place. At the same time, name changes do not come free of charge, and millions of rands are needed to implement them. We will therefore submit parliamentary questions to determine how much is budgeted for the renaming of these geographical entities and just how the MEC is going to proceed with this process in the absence of the committee.
While the DA welcomes the process of renaming important and strategic buildings in order to foster nation building and social cohesion, this cannot be done without following the correct protocols and the correct consultations because otherwise it defeats the very purpose of name changes.