The Msukaligwa Municipality, last year, called on all residents, state departments, organisations and other stakeholders in Ermelo who had an interest in the naming and renaming of streets in town.
Now, name changes to council buildings are being proposed.
People and organizations (CBO’s, political parties, business bodies) are, however, entitled to object to these proposals.
Those who have an interest in filing objections can submit and state their reasons for the objections.
Objections must be on the prescribed form obtainable from all municipal offices and demonstrate if the name proposed contravenes principles set by the municipality to be avoided in the event a name is proposed.
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The community responded in unison against name changes in general and suggested service delivery issues be prioritised.
Many residents are of the view that the municipal infrastructure is deteriorating and services are not efficiently rendered.
This, they said needed to be prioritised before any time is wasted or costs are incurred on what residents consider fruitless expenditure.
Maps have to be changed, GPS systems will no longer work properly and the list goes on – these costs, in part, become the responsibility of the tax payer, which in this case have shown no interest whatsoever in the matter.
A businessman who wished to remain anonymous said to the Highvelder after the first article on street name changes appeared: “Names should not just be changed because some politicians want to flex their muscles in public or honour their heroes.
“Streets are built, not as a mechanism to honour people, they are constructed for people to move about.
“The primary consideration for street names should therefore be to indicate a specific location – preferably without any confusion due to the title, name and surname of the given street.”
Many residents share this view and the same can be said with regard to proposed name changes of council buildings.
Social media was a flurry of activity with several residents sharing their discontent with the municipality.
The closing date for objections is on 5 March 2021.
It is not clear at this stage whether any objections have yet been filed.
Comment was sought from Mr Mandla Zwane, spokesman for the Msukaligwa Municipality, he could, however, not comment at the time of going to press.
Read the complete article in the Highvelder newspaper.
