Council wants more consultations before renaming Ivory Park streets

29 January 2017

 

The City of Johannesburg Council voted against the proposed renaming of 10 streets in Ivory Park extensions 5 and 7 in Region A during a debate at its monthly council meeting at the Metro Centre in Braamfontein on Thursday January 26.

 

This followed a motion raised by Inkatha Freedom Party Councillor Bongani Shange in which he called for the approval of the renaming of the Ward 79 streets to show residents that the City was unlike the old apartheid council, which went against the will of the majority of the people by naming streets willy nilly.

Cllr Shange said the City should demonstrate that it was in touch with the plight and aspirations of the people by voting for the renaming of the 10 streets – four in Extension 5 and six in Extension 7.

In Extension 5, the proposed name changes were from Swazi Street to Orina Thindisa Street; Oxbow Avenue to Cry Freedom Avenue; Ocean View Avenue to Free At Last Avenue; and Lilongwe Avenue to At Long Last Avenue.

In Extension 7, Patrice Lumumba Street was to remain unchanged, while Umnyama Street was to be changed to Zamani Street; Part of Dignity Street to Iketleng Street; Another part of Dignity Street to Jennifer Disimela Street; Lord Khanyile Drive to Mpumelelo Street; Quatro Street to Japie Street; and Respect Street to Buyisa Street.

But Cllr Shirley Molala of the Economic Freedom Fighters said the proposed names should not be approved because the community had not been consulted and some of the new names were of people who were in one way or another connected to the former African National Congress administration.

Cllr Molala said the EFF would not support the motion to rename the streets in the two areas until a new and transparent process was put in place and the community was fully consulted.

Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development Cllr Nonhlanhla Sifumba said although Cllr Shange’s motion was a noble idea, she concurred with Cllr Molala that the community needed to be consulted and the City should not impose names on them.

The City had to follow procedure and make the process as transparent as possible, Cllr Sifumba said.

The motion was put to a vote after the Speaker, Cllr Vasco da Gama, asked the council if it approved the proposed renaming. The motion was defeated by 123 votes to 99. There were four abstentions.