In honour of its struggle icons, Buffalo City Metro launched Heritage Month celebrations at the Mdantsane Sun on Friday.
Mdantsane, the second-largest township in South Africa, was selected as the ideal venue for the momentous occasion to reflect on the heritage of the area and the people who hail from the impoverished town and surrounding areas.
BCM mayor Xola Pakati, who gave the keynote address at the event which was well attended by ward councillors and the community of Mdantsane, said in the 23 years of democracy, it was still difficult to rectify the wrongs of the apartheid regime.
“We are here to celebrate our cultural wealth and diversity. Nelson Mandela spent years trying to unite the country, for man to see no black or white, but even today there is still such a broad divide, which is why you do not see white people among us.
“The more we try to get closer to them, the further they move away from us. Yet at an event of this nature, this is where we are supposed to be celebrating different cultures and the diversity of what makes our South Africa unique.
“As we try to create a balance and make our city a familiar place to those who call it home, we are changing the names in this city, to make it a place where the people living in it can relate and call home.”
Pakati said he had received a lot of criticism for the name changes, and was often told to focus on cleaning up the city.
“Yes, keeping the city clean is a priority, but so is changing street names which merely remind us of those who oppressed us.
“We need to do away with NUs which refer to areas of Mdantsane as ‘native units’. We are not natives, we are people.
“In every town, there are two cities and where there are black people, there is absolute poverty and squalor while in affluent areas you see only a few black people living there, and that is the change we need to bridge,” he said. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
BCM launches Heritage Month in Mdantsane: Pakati defends changing of names, bemoans divide
Mdantsane, the second-largest township in South Africa, was selected as the ideal venue for the momentous occasion to reflect on the heritage of the area and the people who hail from the impoverished town and surrounding areas.
BCM mayor Xola Pakati, who gave the keynote address at the event which was well attended by ward councillors and the community of Mdantsane, said in the 23 years of democracy, it was still difficult to rectify the wrongs of the apartheid regime.
“We are here to celebrate our cultural wealth and diversity. Nelson Mandela spent years trying to unite the country, for man to see no black or white, but even today there is still such a broad divide, which is why you do not see white people among us.
“The more we try to get closer to them, the further they move away from us. Yet at an event of this nature, this is where we are supposed to be celebrating different cultures and the diversity of what makes our South Africa unique.
“As we try to create a balance and make our city a familiar place to those who call it home, we are changing the names in this city, to make it a place where the people living in it can relate and call home.”
Pakati said he had received a lot of criticism for the name changes, and was often told to focus on cleaning up the city.
“Yes, keeping the city clean is a priority, but so is changing street names which merely remind us of those who oppressed us.
“We need to do away with NUs which refer to areas of Mdantsane as ‘native units’. We are not natives, we are people.
“In every town, there are two cities and where there are black people, there is absolute poverty and squalor while in affluent areas you see only a few black people living there, and that is the change we need to bridge,” he said. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos