GGM has been without street names for many years leading to criticism from opposition parties in the council who attributed it to the failure of the ANC government to consider what was important to the residents of Giyani. Adding to that pressure, some residents (especially in Section D2) have long been in naming streets. The problem is that the street names are not recognised by GPS systems. The municipality has however now initiated a street naming campaign.

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A meeting was recently held at the Multipurpose Hall. The meeting was previously cancelled after community members pointed out some shortfalls with regard to the way in which the municipality had organised the event. After these issues were resolved, the municipality has now proceeded with its street naming process. Community members were allowed to submit names that they considered appropriate.

The municipality had its own list of names it felt should be considered. On the list were celebrated individuals or business people who have brought development to Giyani such as Peter Snyman who opened the two Spar supermarkets in Giyani, Mike Masingita Nkuna, the owner of Masingita Mall, and a few other business people. A concern was raised about naming streets after people that were still alive, but the municipality’s speaker, Ernest Mboweni, who was chairing the event, brushed the concern aside, saying the process was not final and that there would be another community meeting after the names selected would have gone through the municipal adjudication committee.

“This is not the final process; there are still many internal processes before the names are presented for people to be able to vote for their favourite names,” he said. Meanwhile, Cedric Baloyi, the head for Planning and Economic Development at the GGM, urged communities to continue submitting names through email or a WhatsApp number available at the municipality’s reception desk.