EFF statement on the name changes in the Eastern Cape

24 February 2021

The EFF notes the name changes in the Eastern Cape signed off by Nathi Mthethwa. Mthethwa signed off on 23 name changes with the following breakdown: 9 Full Name Changes; 10 Existing Name Changes and 4 corrections of spelling. The Full Name Changes are:

Port Elizabeth Airport — King Dawid Stuurman

Port Elizabeth City — Gqeberha

East London Airport — King Phalo Airport

King William's Town - Qonce

Uitenhage — Kariega

Maclear — Nqanqarhu

Katkop — Ngqayi

Mfabantu — Khohlombeni

Berlin — Ntabozuko

The EFF welcomes these name changes as we feel name changes are part of decolonisation and the bigger struggle to transform South Africa into a demographically representative and democratic country.

The pace of this transformation project is far too slow like many other cultural changes that need to happen in South Africa. Namely, the removal of Apartheid statues and the removal of Die Stem from our national anthem.

It is difficult to understand how the ANC has kept the name of D'urban as a title of one of our iconic cities. D'Urban, a British colonial administrator who was denounced by his fellow colonialist John Phillip as a racist who treated Africans as animals. The

names of Bloem, Jan Smuts, Wepener, Christiaan Johannes Joubert and Johannes Rissik (who combined their names to form Johannesburg, the economic hub of South Africa), these names still form part of our cultural identity. Yet this is not surprising as this very government of the ANC is the one that rejected an EFF motion in parliament to repeal ALL APARTHEID LAWS.

It is also sad to note that in the name changes effected by the ANC, the names of African Women heroines are still worryingly few. The names of Manthatisi, the Queen of Batlokoa who united people of the Southern region. The name of Winnie Mandela, whom the African National Congress officially rejected, a name change in her honour in Cape Town remains an outstanding debt in the name changing project. The ANC could not honour her name even in her place of birth where her queendom is well recognized.

The EFF welcomes the name changes to Kings and Queens of the Khoe-khoe speaking and the San people. The name of Dawid Stuurman, who was a gallant warrior who fought against colonialists is a welcome addition.

We hope the ANC will continue this trend in the Western Cape where very little change has been effected in terms of name changes. Back in 2012 the Khoi community in Cape Town suggested a name change for Cape Town to //Hui !Gaeb (where the clouds gather). To date, that name has not been considered by the Western Cape Government together with the ANC's Nathi Mthethwa.

The EFF also regrets the continuous and deliberate omission of names like Robert Sobukwe, Steven Bantu Biko and AP Mda for consideration when changing the names of iconic places of South Africa. These names can never be erased from our history and the ANC must recognise this fact. We reiterate that the program of destroying statues of Apartheid icons must continue.

We will continue to agitate for the removal of Die Stem from our National Anthem; and we continue to put pressure on Nathi Mthethwa, Angie Motshekga and that Blade Nzimande to gradually elevate African languages in the education machinery into

mediums of instruction. The project of emancipation is not complete without a cultural overhaul.

Issued by Vuyani Pambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 24 February 2021