It is up to the courts, not Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan, to decide on the legitimacy of the Tshwane name change, the ministry said on Wednesday.
”The minister is not a dictator … a despot,” said Jordan’s spokesperson Sandile Memela.
”The people have to be consulted. The minister believed if people wanted the name change, they must be given the change,” he added.
On Wednesday, a group of applicants including the Freedom Front Plus announced that it will bring an urgent application on August 28 for an interdict against a change of Pretoria’s name on road signs to Tshwane.
The parties will ask the court to declare the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) the ultimate authority to decide on the name change over that of the provincial government.
It will also ask the court to rule that the City of Tshwane is only applicable to the municipal name and not that of the geographical area.
Usually the SAGNC sends recommendations of new or changed names to Jordan, who then approves or vetoes the registration of the names.
However, earlier this year Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa withdrew her application with the SAGNC for the name change of Pretoria to Tshwane.
Earlier this month, City of Tshwane spokesperson Console Tleane said SAGNC approval was unnecessary because the Municipal Structures Act already made provision for the city to be named Tshwane.
On Wednesday, the Arts and Culture Ministry reiterated this legal argument. Memela said the minister believes the 1998 Municipal Structures Act gives the provincial minister for local government the power to name Tshwane. ”It’s clear, it’s all in the law,” he said.
Memela said the matter is now out of the minister’s jurisdiction. ”We’ll leave it to the court. The court will know what to do in the situation.”
On Tuesday, controversy continued around the name change of the Potchefstroom local municipality to Tlokwe.
”MEC Howard Yawa [provincial minister for local government and housing in North West] approved the changing of the municipality [name] to Tlokwe last week. The new name, Tlokwe, is effective immediately,” said Yawa’s spokesperson Lesiba Kgwele.
Kgwele said that since the name of the municipality had been changed and not that of the Potchefstroom town, there was no need for a process involving SAGNC.
A spokesperson for Potchefstroom mayor Kaizer Mohau said the city council and residents welcomed the new name.
However, civil society group Action Potchefstroom’s spokesperson Theo Venter said the group plans to go to court over the name change because residents were not properly informed about the process.
”The MEC took a decision that encompasses the renaming of the municipality, the renaming of streets as well as buildings,” he said. — Sapa