In the news the last week, they have been talking about the drama surrounding all the name changes in Durban. It appears that the council was planning on going ahead with changing the names of various roads etc WITHOUT consulting the community.

After some investigation, we discover that the name changes were mostly submitted by ONE person (he/she recommended more than 100 of the 242 name changes). One other person submited 40 changes. Adding to the drama, the council is refusing to reveal who these mysterious renamers are and also refusing to reveal the motivations behind the proposed changes.

The problem is that many of these changes are of NON-political figures, such as Edwin Swales Drive. Edwin Swales was a soldier who died serving his country in the Second World War. He died while saving the lives of seven of his crew members. He was honoured by posthumously with the Victoria Cross – the highest honour for bravery at that time! He was also the ONLY South African airman to be decorated with this honour. He was NOT a politician and certainly never voiced any political ideologies. So why does the council want to change the name? As Frank Hartry of Kingsburgh said “,fashion handbags;Edwin Swales was not a politician but a young man who answered to the call of duty and paid the ultimate price. To change the name would be mindless, shameful and downright spiteful”.

The proposed name change of the road is to Solomon Mahlangu, an ANC MK member who was hanged by the apartheid government. Mr Mahlangu WAS politically motivated – for good or bad. So why replace a neutral name for a political one that is bound to upset many people?

It seems as though the ANC is going all out to eradicate everything from the past and supplant them with their own heroes. The problem is that most, if not all of these changes are ANC people. Personally I think it is wrong for one political party to push its own history on a diverse culture. If names are to be changed then they must be at least politically neutral. What will happen one day when the ANC loses power to someone else? Wil the new government then change all the names again to honour their comrades? The cycle is just never going to end.

To be quite honest I think we should leave things well enough alone. No matter who something is named after,cheap sunglass, it is a part of history. Whether good or bad, we can not deny what has happened in the past. So if you want to honour new people, then build new roads, new cities, develop new areas. That is a much greater honour and it also shows our cultural diversity and keeps our history intact. Aren’t these the things that were promised by this government anyway?

Another worry of mine is that there has for the last few years been this uneasy peace between the ANC and Inkhata in KZN. One of the proposed changes is to to rename KwaMashu’s Princess Magogo Stadium in honour of the late ANC MP Dumisani Makhaye. This could have really bad consequences as many Inkhata people will not put up with this. This name changing exercise could result in a lot of bloodshed and drama if it is forced onto people unwillingly.

To the people of Durban/eThekwini : If you object to these name changes, you have until May 11 to comment on the renaming that could see roads, buildings and facilities. You should write to Siyabonga Mngadi, the city’s Deputy Head of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). For more information CLICK HERE. Some of the names to come include: Fidel Castro,Replica Wallets, Yasser Arafat,gucci handbags, Amichand Rajbansi, Dumisani Makhaye and Denis Hurley.