High court rules in favour of Nelspruit name change

MBOMBELA – It’s now official – the province’s capital city will no longer be called Nelspruit, but Mbombela as per the ruling of the Pretoria High Court. This occurred last week after a gruelling battle between communities and the government.
In 2012, the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT) challenged the name change and took the matter to court.
The chamber believed it had a strong case. Its argument was that not enough consultations were done before gazetting the name Mbombela four years ago. The matter had been dragging on until last Thursday, when the Pretoria High Court decided the name must stay.
The Mbombela executive mayor,
Cllr Cathy Dlamini has since welcomed the High Court’s verdict, citing they knew from the beginning they had done everything according to the book. “I am glad the matter has finally been settled. We have said it from the beginning that consultations and all procedures had been followed, but we had to abide by the objections of the organisation and other businesses in the region. We have been exonerated indeed,” said Dlamini.
She stressed that as much as they respected the KLCBT and other concerned groupings, they also respected the wishes of the people who forwarded the name to the demarcation board for approval.
“It is not an act of revenge or undermining the rights of others, but a restoration of the name and identity of the origins of all its people from all races who resided there.
“As we welcome the court’s decision, we hope and trust that it will come in handy in unifying all our communities and enhance social cohesion within this municipality,” she further said.
Mpumalanga News’ sister paper, Lowvelder has reported that the chamber will study the verdict