AfriForum claims victory over Pretoria name change

The government has complied with AfriForum’s demand that Pretoria retain its present name, the organisation said on Friday.

“The Minister of Arts and Culture, Lulu Xingwana, today [Friday] complied with AfriForum’s demand that the changing of Pretoria’s name to Tshwane be retracted by means of an official notice in the Government Gazette,” AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said in a statement.

“Pretoria’s name is now officially Pretoria again.”

Kriel credited AfriForum’s legal team and supporters for preventing the name change.

He also thanked Xingwana for being “big-hearted enough to withdraw the name change”.

Last week, the Government Gazette published the ministry’s intention to change the geographic name Pretoria to that of its municipal name, Tshwane. The ministry said on Monday that it would withdraw the change due to “technical matters”.—Sapa