City's renaming committee to extend terms of reference to include cultural artefacts

The City of Cape Town has been leading the way in recognising our city's multicultural heritage and diverse history through our naming and renaming process. We have been at the forefront of transforming our city to demonstrate positive change though a process of reconciliation by reassessing our public spaces and streets. It has been celebrated as an inclusive process that has given all communities a say in the way our city looks and feels.

This week, I will be asking the naming and renaming committee to extend their terms of reference to include cultural artefacts, ranging from statues to commemorative plaques and memorials. We have made the pillar of building an inclusive city part of the foundation of our government and we want to remain at the forefront of ensuring we make a Cape Town that belongs to all of its residents.

We believe in debating and discussing complicated issues of history, memory, and heritage through inclusive processes that give everyone a voice and that ensure that we consult everyone. In so doing, we will be bound by relevant legislation, including the Heritage Act, and the dictates of our Constitution, especially the preamble, which enjoins us to build a South Africa for everyone.

Statement issued by Patricia de Lille, Executive Mayor, City of Cape Town, April 12 2015

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