/ 10 June 2003

SA Ministry accepts new town names in Limpopo

The South African Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology has accepted new place names for towns in the province of Limpopo — including Louis Trichardt’s new name of Makhado.

According to government news agency BuaNews, Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Ben Ngubane has accepted the renaming of Warmbaths as Bela-Bela, Nylstroom as Modimolle, Potgietersrus as Mokopane and Messina as Musina.

The names were forwarded to him by the province’s Geographical Names Committee (GNC).

BuaNews reported that the committee ”looked at changing names of various towns and kicked off its work by renaming the province from Northern Province to Limpopo and its capital town, formerly Pietersburg and now officially called Polokwane”.

Limpopo GNC chairperson Advocate Tommy Ntsewa said Ngubane accepted the new names after intense consultation with concerned local communities.

He said the new names were seen as ”acceptable to the majority of residents in order to cleanse them of exclusive names that only promoted Afrikaner nationalism”.

Meanwhile, the news service also reported that Ngubane had also approved name changes for three settlements in Mpumalanga. Buffelspruit near Malelane will now be known as Mhlambanyatsi.

Skilpadfontein has been renamed Marapyane and Almansdrift north of Witbank would be called Mbhongo.

Mpumalanga’s GNC chairperson John Skhosana said two rivers, the Treur and

Slabhojet, would now be called Sefogane and Mhlambanyatsi respectively.

Skhosana told the agency that communities had already suggested that Mpumalanga’s capital, Nelspruit, and nearby White River, be renamed.

”We haven’t received a formal submission yet, but our committees at local

level have shown that communities wanted to change the names,” he said. – I-Net Bridge