Grahamstown has officially changed its name to Makhanda, it was announced by arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa’s spokesperson Asanda Magaqa on Tuesday.
The renaming of the university city was given the thumbs-up after only 332 objections received.
“Mthethwa now wishes to advise members of the press that following this thorough, assiduous and painstaking process he has found no just cause to withdraw the notice published in the Government Gazette on 29 June 2018 and as such the proclamation, as published in the Government Gazette in question stands,” Magaqa said.
When Mthethwa made the renaming announcement, there was an uproar from civil society, with the Keep Grahamstown Grahamstown (KGG) campaign leading the charge.
At the time, KGG pointed out that Mthethwa was by law required to consider objections before making the final decision.
Reacting to Tuesday’s announcement, KGG spokesperson Jock McConnachie said they would challenge the decision in court.
He said they were anticipating the rejection of their objections and would challenge the name change in court, referring to it as a botched process.
“The department says that it received 332 objections and we would like to know what happened to many other thousands of objections.
“It has been a completely botched process from the beginning. It has always been a predetermined decision. It will have to go to court and it will be overturned in court,” he said.
However, Magaqa said the name of British commander Colonel John Graham, whom the town was named after, “is one that evokes unimaginable pain to the vast majority of South Africans. What South Africans ought to know is that the name change of the town to Makhanda is the fulfilling of the prophecy of “Ukubuya kuka Nxele (the return of Nxele)”.
She said that renaming the city would ensure that Makhanda ka Nxele’s memory was immortalised.
In a letter seen by the Daily Dispatch from Mthethwa to some of the complainants dated September 21, the minister informed them that their complaints did not reflect any contravention of Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA), SAGNC Act 118 of 1998 and the handbook on standardisation of geographic names.
“The historic sentiments and arguments around heritage values were noted and they form part of our main function as the department in promoting and preserving our heritage but we cannot allow them to undermine government transformational agenda on heritage landscape,” Mthethwa’s letter reads.
Mthethwa also rejected the objections, saying that the objection was referred to the SAGNC of which the council explained all the processes followed in the name change.
“It is therefore on that basis that I wish to inform you that your objection is rejected,” Mthethwa wrote...