Plan to change the name of one of Joburg’s most important roads
The City of Joburg is proposing to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive, continuing the trend of renaming key roads in the city.
The city invited comments from interested and affected parties, who have 28 days to respond. Comments can be sent to [email protected].
The proposal comes a year after another key road, William Nicole Drive, was renamed Winnie Mandela Drive on September 23, 2023.
Notably, it is not the first time the name change has been put forward. The change was proposed in 2018, supported by the majority of councillors.
However, according to City of Joburg ward councillor Martin Williams, the proposal had been altered post-approval, which may open it up to legal challenges.
He said that Al Jama-ah, seconded by the ANC, initially proposed renaming Sandton Drive as Ramallah City Drive, but this was later amended by the EFF to make the change to Leila Khaled Drive.
The response from users on Twitter has not been positive.
Many respondents called the move to rename Sandton Drive a waste of money and resources—especially given the city’s financial constraints and massive infrastructure issues—while others called it divisive.
Some raised concerns about the new name, given that Leila Khaled has no real ties to South Africa or Johannesburg and is a controversial figure in the Israel-Palestine war.
Khaled is a Palestinian liberation fighter known for hijacking and attempting to hijack planes in 1969 and 1970. She has become a popular pro-Palestine icon among supporters.
However, Williams noted that she has no ties to Joburg specifically, nor has she contributed in any meaningful way to the city’s development—some of the key requirements to justify a name change.
He also stressed that the proposed change goes against many of the name-change rules and brings the City of Joburg into the Israel-Palestine conflict, antagonising one side over the other—the opposite of goodwill.
Name changes remain a controversial talking point in South Africa at the best of times. However, at the very least, the changes put forward are tied to local heritage.
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie said earlier this month that the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) and the Provincial Geographical Names Committees (PGNCs) are planning a fresh push for name changes in the country.
There are currently 66 applications for name changes for several geographical features in South Africa, listed by the South African Geographic Names Council (SAGNC) as being processed.
These name changes will apply to various geographical features across the country as outlined within the SAGNC mandate, including towns, villages, settlements, townships, mountains, rivers, airports, roads, and post offices.
The council has gazetted and named or renamed 1,505 geographical features in South Africa since its inception.
Many of the name changes are taking place in only a handful of provinces, with the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal being particularly aggressive in this.
Gauteng has not been as prominent in the name-change game but has targeted key routes in its endeavours.
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