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Winnie Madikizela Mandela photographed in 2013.
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
- Among the landmarks that need to be renamed is the historic Free State town of Brandfort.
- The city will reportedly be renamed after Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
- A statue of Madikizela-Mandela will be inaugurated in the city.
The historic Free State town of Brandfort and Hoffmanplein in Bloemfontein are among a list of locations in the province that will be renamed.
The Free State MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Limkatso Mahasa, said the sites would be renamed in his department’s budget speech on Tuesday, according to Netwerk24.
Mahasa reportedly said Brandfort will change its name in honor of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and a statue erected in her honor.
The statue will be built in the new financial year, Mahasa said.
It is not yet clear what name the city will be given.
According to a speech, Mahasa said:
In keeping with the heritage landscape transformation goal, the Department has been part of the restoration work process at the Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Museum in Brandfort.
“The physical restoration of the Museum has been completed and currently the National Department of Sports, Art and Culture is finalizing the appointment of a service provider that will compile the historical research that will inform the Museum exhibition.”
Madikizela-Mandela was placed under house arrest in Brandfort in 1977, and the property on which she stayed has been destined to become a museum.
Other icons of the struggle to be honored in the province are Fezile Dabi and Albertina Sisulu. A statue of Dabi will be erected at the Fezile Dabi stadium in Parys, and one of Sisulu will be unveiled in Tweeling.
“To further preserve our legacy, history, and celebrate our fighting heroines, we will change the name from Hoffman Square on Charlotte Maxeke Street to Charlotte Maxeke Park, subject to proper consultation processes and procedures as required by relevant legislation. This will be followed. for the construction of the statue of Mama Charlotte Maxeke in Hoffman Square itself, “said Mahasa.
More plans will be released soon to ensure freedom movement leaders are honored with the landmark renaming.
READ | The city of Joburg considers changing the William Nicol unit to the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela unit
The ANC in the province has called for a name change process.
Paseka Nompondo, Secretary of the Free State ANC, said that “democratic advancement has allowed communities to participate in the process of naming and renaming public goods,” which in turn, by naming new areas and streets, could improve service delivery.
Renaming cities and landmarks has been hotly debated after several changes in the Eastern Cape. New names include the change from Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha, Port Elizabeth International Airport to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, East London Airport to King Phalo Airport, Uitenhage to Kariega, King William’s Town to Qonce, and Maclear to Nqanqarhu.
