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A photo of the old Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha.
- East London will not be renamed Ku Gompo because the proposed name has already been rejected by the South African Council on Geographical Names.
- The council advises the Minister of Sport, Art and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, on new geographical names, as well as on changing existing names.
- The reason for rejecting the new name is because there is a borough in East London that bears a similar name.
East London will not be renamed Ku Gompo.
The proposed name for the coastal city of the Eastern Cape was dropped by the South African Council on Geographical Names.
The council advises the Minister of Sport, Art and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, on new geographical names, as well as on changing existing names.
The reason for rejecting the name was that a place with a similar name already exists: Gompo. It is one of the oldest boroughs in East London.
READ | Port Elizabeth and two South African airports have changed names
This was confirmed by Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee Provincial Vice Chairman Zukile Jodwana to News24 on Thursday.
Jodwana served on the committee that presented the proposed name to the national council after public hearings in East London.
Name
This comes after the nation was woken up to media reports that East London’s new name, Ku Gompo, is awaiting Mthethwa’s signature.
The Daily Dispatch attributed this to Eastern Cape Arts and Culture MEC Fezeka Nkomonye.
But, on Thursday, Jodwana dismissed this, adding that duplication of names is prohibited and the name Ku Gompo was rejected on the grounds that it was a duplication.
The name of cities and landmarks is in the spotlight after Mthethwa published approval of new names for seven Eastern Cape cities and two airports.
The full name changes are as follows:
- Port Elizabeth Airport – King Dawid Mate
- City of Port Elizabeth – Gqeberha
- East London Airport – King Phalo Airport
- King William City – Qonce
- Uitenhage – Kariega
- Maclear – Nqanqarhu
- Katkop – Cup
- Mfabantu – Khohlombeni
- Berlin – Ntabozuko
Mthethwa also approved changes to 10 existing names and spelling corrections for four places.
The EFF welcomed the change of the new names, describing the movement as part of decolonization and the larger struggle to transform South Africa into a democratic and demographically representative country.
But the district attorney promised to demand transparency from Mthethwa and to understand whether the opposing submissions were considered before publishing the names.
READ | DA criticizes government name changes in Eastern Cape
DA MP Veronica van Dyk said the ANC government had gone too far.
Jodwana said: “There was a process related to East London and there was a proposal that as a province committee made a recommendation to the council, but that name was withheld and it was not sent to the minister because there is still a bit of research that needs to be done. be done in regards to the area that the council raised.
“The name was part of the processes that led to the renaming of East London Airport and King William’s Town. The city council still needs to review several things related to that name and one is that there is a principle that says there is no duplication , which means you can’t name two features with the same name – that particular name [Ku Gompo] received a red flag because there is a suburb known as Gompo in East London. ”
Jodwana said the provincial committee had advocated for the name, hoping the national council would reconsider its decision.
“Our argument was that it was about two different characteristics: one characteristic is a city, which is a collection of a series of characteristics within that geographic space, and then Gompo is a specific characteristic, which is an area of human settlement.”
Jodwana said a lot of research needs to be done, and the results of that investigation will determine whether the name can be returned to the council for consideration.
Informed about the new developments, MEC Nkomonye said:
“As far as I know, the Eastern Cape Committee on Geographical Names concluded its work, where it held [a] public hearing and the name ‘Gompo’ was recommended. It was then presented to the National Council for Geographical Names. That job then becomes independent from the province. We will await a formal communication from the National Council of Geographical Names if there is any dispute with the name. “
On the newly released names, Jodwana said it would be up to 12 months before the country would see posters with the new names.
Mthethwa’s spokesperson, Masechaba Ndlovu Khumalo, did not respond to News24’s questions.
Buffalo City Subway Mayor Xola Pakati welcomed the name changes for both East London Airport and King William’s Town.
“The name changes represent the culmination of a representative process, where City residents have expressed their opinion on the names. We can only welcome the outcome of that process, which continues to indicate the maturity of our democratic system.
“The naming of places is fundamental for the identity and belonging of the metro’s citizens in general, and we are sure that the new names will better affirm our identity as an African city, thus improving our unique positioning, even in the tourist market,” he said. . saying.
