City recommends renaming of Table Bay Boulevard in honour of former president FW de Klerk

The City of Cape Town's Naming Committee, in response to a written request from prominent residents, has recommended that Table Bay Boulevard be renamed in honour of former president FW de Klerk. Read more below:

Following this recommendation, a comprehensive public participation process - as foreseen by the Constitution and stipulated by the Local Government Municipal Systems Act - is to be followed to allow for residents, role players, interested parties and community organisations to air their views.

The recommendation from the City's Naming Committee is in response to a written request on 18 June 2014 to the City's Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille, and the City Council to rename Table Bay Boulevard - the first section of the N1 freeway from Cape Town - to FW de Klerk Boulevard.

‘We are committed to building an inclusive city in which everyone enjoys a sense of belonging. As such, we are working hard at building a shared community across different cultural and social groups in the city. For this to happen, all residents must feel acknowledged, heard, valued and respected and we therefore encourage our residents to please take part in this public participation process and to have their say,' said the Chairperson of the City's Naming Committee, Councillor Brett Herron.

The request is for the renaming to take place on or close to 2 February 2015. It is signed by 27 prominent residents, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille.

These signatories motivated that it is vital for the City to recognise the decisive role played by former president FW de Klerk in the transition to a new dispensation in South Africa. Mr De Klerk received the Nobel Peace Prize together with the late former president Nelson Mandela; furthermore Mr De Klerk delivered his memorable 2 February 1990 speech in Cape Town, which paved the way for our first democratic elections in 1994.

According to the signatories, the proposed date (2 February 2015) for the renaming of Table Bay Boulevard is befitting as it will be exactly a quarter of a century ago that Mr De Klerk delivered his historic speech before Parliament.

This proposal complies with the City's Naming Policy which states that although names of living persons are to be avoided, exceptions can be made for notable people, freemen and ‘citizens who have achieved international recognition of the highest kind'.

The signatories have also suggested that even though it will cause little inconvenience to rename this section of the N1 freeway, the prominence of this carriageway would make the renaming in honour of a former president appropriate.

Statement issued by Councillor Brett Herron, Chairperson of the Naming Committee, City of Cape Town, August 14 2014

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