Durban ratepayers and political parties are drawing battle lines over proposals to rename nearly 200 city buildings and roads, the Daily News reported on Monday.
Its website said the African National Congress (ANC) and city leaders had been accused of politicising the process and of disrespecting the Zulu royal house.
On Friday, city leaders tabled a report calling for support from the council’s executive committee members for the second and final batch of renaming.
Durban’s first batch of 10 new road and building names was finalised two weeks ago.
Submissions were then called for by council’s Masakhane Committee, which on Friday released a report detailing the 181 proposals for the second and last renaming phase.
In principle, the process enjoyed the support of the full political spectrum in the city council.
But a handful of proposals calling for streets to be named after ANC cadres, communist leaders and former liberation organisations sparked anger.
Strong opponents included the Inkatha Freedom Party, which had threatened to stage the ”mother of all [protest] marches”.
The Democratic Alliance and Minority Front had not excluded legal action to fight some proposals.
The African Christian Democratic Party accused the ANC of reopening painful apartheid wounds of certain communities, and of being insensitive.
City manager Michael Sutcliffe said the proposed new names were not a done deal.
Residents were free to raise objections, and these would not be swept under the carpet, he said. — Sapa