/ 15 August 2007

Pretoria-Tshwane name debacle in court

A notice of motion indicating an urgent application for an interdict will be brought against the pending change of Pretoria’s name on road signs to Tshwane.

The Freedom Front Plus and one of its councillors on the City of Tshwane municipality, Fredrik Jacobus Conradie Beyers, and Afriforum filed a joint notice of motion in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday citing the municipality, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa and five others as respondents.

In the notice, they say they will bring an urgent application for an interdict preventing road signs to be changed pending a further court action over the city’s name change.

The notion states that the parties will further ask the court to declare the South African Geographical Names Council the ultimate authority to decide the possible 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.

The applicants said they will bring their urgent application on August 28.

In North West province, the name change of the Potchefstroom local municipality to Tlokwe local municipality is already effective, the department of local government and housing said on Tuesday.

”[Provincial minister] Howard Yawa approved the changing of the municipality [name] to Tlokwe last week. The new name, Tlokwe, is effective immediately,” said the provincial minister’s spokesperson, Lesiba Kgwele.

”Only the municipality has been renamed and not the Potchefstroom town,” he added. — Sapa