Name change meetings fail to take place
Public hearings rescheduled for other dates.
HIGHVELD – Residents said the proposed naming and renaming of geographical features in the Govan Mbeki municipal jurisdiction is a waste of ratepayers’ money.
They were responding to the article that appeared in the Ridge Times of 9 May, “Council approves names changes”.
They said the money that is being used for this process, should be spent to improve service delivery.
The Govan Mbeki municipal council approved a draft list for the naming and renaming of geographical features at its council meeting on 26 March.
An advert was placed in the Ridge Times of 2 May requesting people to comment for a period of 14 days from the date of the publication.
Public hearings were supposed to take place at the Thusong Centre in Leandra at 5pm on 13 May, the Sjongile Ndamase Community Hall on 14 May and the Nokuthula Simelane Civic Centre in Bethal on 15 May.
The Thusong Centre was closed on the afternoon of the meeting.
A councillor and a few men stood outside the Sjongile Ndamase Community Hall in eMbalenhle on the afternoon of the meeting.
The councillor said he did not know the reason why the meeting did not take place.
He said the naming and renaming process was “inconsistent and lack relevance” in other towns, like renaming Charl Cilliers to Tsietsi Mashinini.
“Why not rename the town with the name of a person from the area?” he asked.
Residents from Bethal who attended the meeting were told by the municipal officials that the meeting would be rescheduled because of poor attendance.
“I think the time for holding the meeting is unreasonable, because people are still working at that time,” said Ms Sannette Henning, resident.
The meetings also clashed with the budget consultation meetings that began on 13 May and end on 21 May.
Mr Lucky Mhlongo, Communication Officer of the municipality, said they will comment in the next publication.
Copies of the draft geographical name change documents are available at municipal regional offices, public libraries and on www.govanmbeki.gov.za.
