The Freedom Front Plus’s statements about an alleged alteration to the Tshwane municipality’s emblem were ”misplaced and incorrect”, the mayor’s spokesperson said on Monday.
”The FF+ statements on the matter are misplaced and incorrect,” said William Baloyi, spokesperson for Tshwane mayor Smangaliso Mkhatshwa.
The FF+ in a statement issued on Friday said: ”The plans of the Tshwane metro council to have the ‘changed’ name of Pretoria to that of Tshwane added to the municipality’s emblem indicates the contempt of the council for the wishes of Pretoria residents and for the findings of the Advertising Standards Authority [ASA].”
In August, the ASA ordered the council to issue and pay for adverts admitting that its marketing campaign referring to Tshwane as the capital was misleading.
The FF+ said that according to a submission to the council by consulting firm Grant Thornton, the words ”Miraculous change — Pretoria to Tshwane” should be added to the metro’s emblem to allow the name change to ”sink in with tourists”.
Baloyi denied the claim.
”The council has never adopted what the FF+ is talking about, nor has any such suggestion been put forth to the council for adoption or approval.”
He said the submission was one of a number of suggestions made by the firm’s tourism and leisure consultants to the metro’s tourism department on possible designs for posters and other promotional material.
”It was never in Grant Thornton’s mandate to alter the metro’s emblem. The phrase was simply part of a suggested poster design, not a change to the emblem at all.”
FF+ MP Willie Spies said he appreciated Baloyi’s explanation that the suggestions had not been put to council, but said the party took issue with instructions given to Grant Thornton by the council.
”We have seen the presentation that Grant Thornton gave and we are aware that they were given instructions by the council to take the name-change process as a fait accompli. That is what concerns us the most,” Spies said.
He said the party did not approve of the council giving such instructions.
”We do not take issue so much with the suggestions made by the firm, but more with the fact that they were made on the strength that the name change would go through.”
The Tshwane metro earlier this year applied to the South African National Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) to have the greater Pretoria area, including Mamelodi, Centurion and Akasia, registered as Tshwane.
The move has resulted in protests from a number of political parties and pressure groups.
The SAGNC has since approved the registration of the name Tshwane, but the matter has not been finalised, as the recommendation still has to be taken to Parliament by Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan. — Sapa