Cape Town Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato welcomes gazetting of District Six name change approval

Mayor Dan Plato says the approval of Zonnebloem to reclaim its original name of District Six is part of restoring the identity of the neighbourhood and gives a measure of closure for former residents who were forcefully removed from the area decades ago. Read more below:

Today we move another step closer to giving dignity back to residents who once lived in District Six. This is another milestone in restoring District Six after the Cape Town city council approved the name change of Keizergracht to the original Hanover Street in August. That name change proposal was submitted by the District Six Working Committee.

I welcome the submission by Western Cape Arts & Culture Minister Anroux Marais, to support the name change. The City of Cape Town remains committed to supporting the restitution process of the District Six community.

We note the redevelopment plan submitted by Land Reform Minister Thoko Didiza to the Land Claims Court. We hope this will speed up the process of restitution, after many delays, for the hundreds of claimants still waiting to return to the area.

Statement issued by City of Cape Town, 18 December 2019