More name changes for cities, towns and other features in South Africa coming this year

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture says it aims to publish at least three national gazettes this year detailing name changes for geographical features in South Africa.

In the department’s annual performance plan for 2023/24, it said that working with the South African Geographical Names Council, with the goal to gazette name changes in the second, third and fourth quarters of the year.

These three national gazettes will add to the ten published over the last three years showcasing various name changes.

The South African Geographical Names Council is an advisory body that facilitates name changes by consulting with communities to advise the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture. Name changes are handled in consultation with provincial councils, and can apply to cities, towns, villages, rivers, mountains and various other geographical features.

The department categorises name changes as being part of nation-building and promoting social cohesion, and has the overarching goal of transforming and standardising geographical names in South Africa.

“The transformation agenda of the post-1994 government is designed to restore indigenous nomenclature, languages, and heritage. To this effect, the department continues to transform the heritage and naming landscape through changing and standardising names of geographical features,” it said.

“These projects are prioritised to foster a diverse socially cohesive society with a common national identity.”

South Africa has seen several key name changes over the last few years, mainly concentrated in the Eastern Cape. Aside from the naming of new geographic features in KwaZulu-Natal, most of the changed names for towns and cities have been in the Eastern Cape.

According to the department, 103 geographical name changes have occurred in the Eastern Cape since 2019.

The cost carried by the department related to these name changes relates to public consultation notices and honoraria for committee and council sittings. These are budgeted for within government departments, it said. The cost of changing names has not been tracked.

The last two years saw a host of significant name changes take place, including new names for Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), Cradock (now Nxuba) and Uitenhage (Kariega). The most recent changes were for smaller towns in the Eastern Cape.

The department has previously said that the transformation of the naming landscape in South Africa is ‘a critical component of the heritage landscape as a whole’.

Despite the negative reaction name changes get, they are part of expressing South Africa’s heritage, and it remains a core strategy within the department, it said.

“This is our own way as a sector in bringing meaning to freedom. In ensuring that the many unearthed and untold stories are given the platform through the national oral history project that we support.

“Through the geographical names project, we have also deliberately set the country on a path towards healing by changing names of towns and cities which have unsavoury colonial and apartheid connotations. In doing so, we have always sought to consult widely in ensuring that the affected communities are part of the name-change process,” it said.

Changes for the names council

Even as name changes are expected to continue, the names council is also expected to undergo some changes.

During the year, the department will focus on tabling three bills, including the South African Geographical Names Council Amendment Bill, 2021, which will see the body amalgamated with others into a single entity.

“The department has investigated the feasibility of amalgamating the public entities to improve corporate governance and operational efficiency, enhance the development reach and the impact on the arts, culture, and heritage sector and to ensure that the funding available is optimally allocated,” it said.

“The feasibility study recommended a consolidation of public entities in line with their service delivery themes which will lead to a reduction in the number of public entities reporting to the department.”

The process will take three-to-five years, continuing in 2023/24, and will ultimately include legislation change and review since some of the entities will have their founding legislation combined to allow for the establishment of a single entity.

Read: Government not counting the costs of name changes in South Africa