A market research sample of 1 227 respondents of which 93% were men, shows that residents of Pretoria do not fancy any political names for the Tshwane metro’s A Re Yeng’s 51 bus stations.
The Pretoria A Re Yeng bus service was criticised at the council meeting as showing a total disregard for public participation, ward councillors and communities. The 1 227 people asked in a questionnaire of what they think the names for the stations should be, were all between the ages of 26 and 35 years. All were in favour of the names Nelson Mandela, Madiba and the former president’s middle name, Rolihlahla.
All the respondents however, indicated that they did not like any stations to be named after a politician or historic figure.
Topping the list of unpopularity was the names of Jacob Zuma, Julius Malema, and other historic figures such as Paul Kruger and Hendrik Verwoerd.
Some 75% of respondents did not know what A Re Yeng means. Only 25% knew that the name had to do with the new rapid bus transport system. The market research sample comprised of 93% black, 6% white and 1% coloured votes. Of this, 29% were local residents, 6% informal hawkers, 62% commuters and 4% from small businesses.
The ANC council was criticised that they did not follow proper procedure for public participation in the naming of 51 new bus stations. The metro said the most important aspects were taken into consideration in choosing names for the different stations, being that the names should be easy to remember, be local and relevant and easy to pronounce. It must be patriotic and internationally recognisable and acceptable. Other names suggested was coupled with stations in specific areas such as Hatfield, Capital Park, or Nana Sita, being in Nana Sita Street.
Elmarie Linde said that the naming of the stations required broader public participation.
“We are disturbed that names were chosen randomly, certainly behind closed doors, without participatory democracy, something that the ANC knows is important for residents of Tshwane,” she said.
“According to local geographical names policy, when a project commences in the city, officials consult with ward councillors, ward committees and the community to request possible names for the project. This is another good example of not following procedure and complying with the city’s own policies. Why was the same procedure not followed in the naming of the bus stations? Why wasn’t the steering committee of each work package involved?”
She said a wishy-washy market analysis was done to keep councillors quiet.
“An analysis was done so poorly it brings a huge project such as the A Re Yeng in disrepute. I do not have to go into the details to emphasise the poor quality of the market research. The few respondents were not representative of our communities,” she said.
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