Big changes coming for name changes in South Africa

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture wants to make some significant changes to the laws and processes followed when changing geographical names in South Africa, including formalising new provincial committees and setting up a structured appeals process.
The department has gazetted notice of a slew of public consultations to take place in February and March 2025, looking for feedback on draft changes to the laws governing geographical name changes in the country.
The consultations will be an opportunity for the public to comment on the draft South African Geographical Names Council Amendment Bill, which will be further processed and tabled before parliament once the feedback is concluded.
According to minister Gayton McKenzie, the amendments will impact how the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) operates, mainly by formalising provincial committees across all nine provinces.
One of the main mandates of the SAGNC is to advise the minister responsible for Sport, Arts and Culture on the transformation and standardization of South Africa’s naming landscape.
The country has seen over 1,500 name changes processed since the council was established, including major towns and cities. Some more recent examples include the renaming of Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha in 2021, and a shift away from iconic names like Ladysmith to uMnambithi in 2024.
However, whenever these name changes occur, there is often a huge public outcry and allegations of a lack of consultation. Many claim to have never been aware of any name change processes underway and that public hearings, if any, are not communicated efficiently.
Opposition parties in particular have hit back at the processes, saying that the changes are often pushed through despite opposition, with no way to appeal the process.

The draft Geographical Names Council Amendment Bill aims to address at least some of these criticisms.
Main changes under the draft bill include:
Establishing provincial committees
Each province in the country will be mandated to establish a Provincial Geographical Names Committee, which will be responsible with advising authorities and making recommendations for name changes.
Other draft amendments set out administrative rules for these committees, such as having 10-15 people drawn from specific areas of expertise, as well as aligning their terms with the national council, being 5 years.
Adequate consultation
The provincial committees will have to ensure that all proposals and recommendations go through adequate consultation and that local communities are fully informed.
Research is also specifically mentioned as a key function.
The Council must, after having considered a geographical name change application and arrived at a recommendation, publish these in the Government Gazette and allow the public to comment on the recommended name change.
The Council must also conduct public hearings in respect of any change.
Appeals
The draft laws establish a formal appeals process, which will set up an Appeals Tribunal for name changes.
This tribunal must have three to five independent members with the relevant expertise.
The appeals process will have to be handled within three months of appeals being lodged.
According to McKenzie, consultation on the draft bill will start taking place from 4 February and run through to 25 March as follows:
- Limpopo – February 4
- Mpumalanga – February 10
- Northern Cape – February 17
- KwaZulu-Natal – February 28
- Western Cape – March 4
- Eastern Cape – March 7
- North-West – March 11
- Free State – March 18
- Gauteng – March 25
Venues and times will be communicated with relevant stakeholders before the end of January
2025
The full draft bill can be read below: