More name changes on the cards for South Africa
The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture has noted that 104 applications for name changes in the country have been submitted to it over the past financial year and in 2025 to date.
Responding to a parliamentary Q&A from the EFF’s Thapelo Mogale, Minister Gayton McKenzie broke down the numbers.
He said that 53 name change applications had been brought in the 2024/25 financial year, largely from the KwaZulu-Natal structures.
KwaZulu-Natal applied for 46 name changes, with the Eastern Cape applying for four. This was followed by two applications from Limpopo and one in Gauteng.
For the 2025/26 financial year to date, commencing 1 April 2025, the department has received 51 applications, again mostly originating from KwaZulu-Natal.
Here, KZN has applied for 38 changes, followed by the Eastern Cape with nine. Limpopo has again submitted two applications, with the North-West and Free State submitting one each.
Name changes remain a highly contentious issue in South Africa, with proponents seeing changes to the names of historic towns, cities and other features as crucial to moving on from the past.
However, critics of the changes argue that the processes are often driven by political agendas, do not reflect the wishes of the communities, and have a negative economic impact on the country.
To date, South Africa has officially gazetted and renamed over 1,500 geographical features across the country, including towns, settlements, rivers, mountains, roads, and airports.
KwaZulu-Natal has seen the highest number of name changes in democratic South Africa, followed closely by the Eastern Cape and Limpopo.
2024 saw some significant changes, including the renaming of William Nicol in Joburg to Winnie Mandela; Ladysmith to uMnambithi; Kirkwood to Nqweba; Graaff-Reinet to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe; Aberdeen to Camdeboo; and East London to KuGompo.
This year has also seen a slew of proposed name changes, such as the renaming of towns like Harrismith and Smithfield due to cultural sensitivities.
The Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee announced in August that it had started the process of renaming Port Alfred, Alexandria, and the Kowie River as part of a broader effort to replace colonial-era names with indigenous ones.
Gauteng has also presented its fair share of name change proposals, though not for any major towns or cities.
It has instead focused on changing street names—including a highly controversial ploy to change the name of Sandton Drive—as well as proposing to change the name of Lanseria International Airport.
Misunderstanding the process
Feeding into the narrative of name change proposals being political tools more than community-driven desires are the many failed attempts by politicians to force changes without going through the proper channels.
In September, a proposal was put forward in the Mpumalanga legislature to change the name of the Kruger National Park to the Skukuza National Park.
However, both the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries made it clear that this had no legal bearing.
Naming and name changes are handled by different spheres of government, and typically cannot be unilaterally passed without engaging in a consultation process.
National features and names are processed through the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC), which falls under the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
The process of changing a name typically begins with proposals for a name change at the community level, where individuals, communities, or institutions submit a name change proposal to the relevant Provincial Geographical Names Committee (PGNC).
Public consultations are then facilitated by the PGNC in the affected area, ensuring compliance with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA).
Following consultations, the SAGNC then initiates its verification and recommendations after assessing historical relevance, community support, and technical accuracy related to the change.
Once the processes have been followed, the changes then go for final approval by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, followed by gazetting of the approved name.
However, depending on what feature is being named, the process may fall under a different department.
For example, the naming of streets and municipalities does not fall under the jurisdiction of the SAGNC and is instead managed by local municipalities.
In the case of the Kruger National Park, it is South African National Parks (SANParks) that is responsible for naming the country’s national parks.
This is a competency under the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, which is currently under DA minister Willie Aucamp.
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