Hot on the heels of the decision to change the name of Johannesburg International airport to OR Tambo International airport comes another major name adjustment: the city council of Potchefstroom in the North West voted on Tuesday night to change the town’s name to Tlokwe.
Various street names in the town are also set to change to reflect the names of African National Congress freedom fighters.
”There was a special council meeting last night [Tuesday] where this was decided. An application will now be made to the provincial geographical names council for consideration,” said Errol Temane, chief administrator in the mayor’s office, on Wednesday.
”The people who lived in the city before 1838, which is when Andries Hendrik Potgieter came to the city, referred to the area as Tlokwe. It was decided that name should be used again.”
Potchefstroom, founded in 1838 by a group of Voortrekkers led by Potgieter, was the capital of the former Transvaal Republic and is seen as the oldest town north of the Vaal River. Its name was derived from Potgieter’s surname, ”chef” (the leader, referring to Potgieter) and ”stroom” (Afrikaans for ”stream”, referring to the Mooi River that flows through the town).
Potchefstroom hosts the yearly Aardklop cultural festival and is home to the North West University’s Potchefstroom campus.
Temane said a motion was submitted in August 2004 for the renaming of street names and public facilities in Potchefstroom. Specific streets were identified, as well as the Andries Hendrik Potgieter Banquet Hall.
A public participation process followed where a majority of the city’s people said the council should consider changing the name of the city, said Temane.
”This is how and when we decided to change the name of the city. The people asked for it, so we took it into consideration and last night decided that it will be changed.”
He said the spirit in which the debate for the name change took place on Tuesday night was encouraging. ”The DA [Democratic Alliance] and the FF+ [Freedom Front Plus] accepted there was a need for change.
”For example, the ANC [African National Congress] wanted the banquet hall to be renamed Peter Mokele, but the DA said they wanted it to be named Madiba Banquet Hall, so the ANC accepted that.”
The DA also submitted that Stasieweg, which was not among the street names listed to be changed, should be renamed Piet Bosman Street. ”This submission was also accepted,” said Temane.
Petition ‘wiped off the table’
However, Pieter Groenewald, FF+ spokesperson on safety and security and the party’s provincial leader in the North West, said on Wednesday that the name change disregards Afrikaner history and heritage.
”A petition opposing the proposed name change, containing more than 8 000 signatures, was submitted to the city council, but it is merely wiped off the table,” Groenewald said. ”It is nothing other than a total disregard of the cultural historical heritage of the Afrikaner, and the ANC is abusing its power to intimidate the Afrikaner.”
He said FF+ leader Pieter Mulder will take up the name change with Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan, as such changes first have to be approved by the minister before becoming official.
”The Constitution of South Africa provides that the cultural historical heritage of all groups is acknowledged and the ANC of Potchefstroom is clearly ignoring this constitutional provision,” Groenewald said.
”We suggested that there should at least be a referendum in those wards which will be affected by the street-name changes as it would be reasonable and democratic. If the ANC had at all been considerate for the acknowledgement of the Afrikaners’ history, it would at least have listened to the suggestions.
”In the neighbouring town, Klerksdorp, an agreement was reached on street-name changes, acknowledging everyone’s cultural historical heritage and Potchefstroom should have followed these examples,” he added.
Temane said it is important not to consider what is most important to one particular group or sector, but what is best for the majority in the city. ”Besides, all that changed is the name. People will still drink the same water, they will still drive the same way to university and our festival, Aardklop, will still take place in the same place.”
He added that the name change is important for transformation and change.