There is just one week left before the closing date for objections to the renaming of Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha and Uitenhage to Kariega.
The name-change saga continues to be a hot topic in SA, and those who want the new names reversed have until Thursday next week to object.
The objections also include the renaming of the Port Elizabeth International Airport to the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has launched an online objection platform for those too busy to send e-mails.
Bay mayor Nqaba Bhanga said many residents had made it clear they did not support the name change.
“I stand with the majority of residents in that we are not opposed to naming changes, but the processes followed must be inclusive and reflect our constitutional commitment to reconciliation.”
He said the city would submit a complaint soon about the name changes.
This would include the number of residents who used the municipal platform to object, which closes for objections on Thursday.
A group calling itself the Uitenhage Leadership Against Kariega claimed in a statement that people had been bussed in from other areas during public participation meetings.
“Also, the person who proposed the name Kariega was from Port Elizabeth and not residing in Uitenhage.
“We strongly believe that the name proposal, engagement and persuasions were supposed to be among local communities, but they were not there because they were not informed about the meeting.
“A few locals left the meeting frustrated by how the proceedings were conducted.”
The name changes were approved and gazetted by sports, arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa on February 23.
Objections must be lodged within 30 days of the gazette being published.
Mthethwa would have received name-change recommendations from the SA Geographical Names Council which, in turn, received and scrutinised submissions from the Provincial Geographical Naming Committees.
Furthermore, the Provincial Geographical Naming Committee would also have had to have meetings with local businesses and other stakeholders to discuss the proposed changes.
Major political parties in the Bay have also expressed concern about the processes that were followed.
Mthethwa’s spokesperson, Masechaba Khumalo, failed to respond to questions sent via WhatsApp and e-mail.
She also did not answer any of the calls to her cellphone.
During the public participation phase, a petition opposing the name change was signed by 26,000 people.
But it turned out later that this had only counted as a single objection.
Again, a petition circulating among the public to retain the name of Port Elizabeth had racked up 77,791 signatures by midday on Tuesday.
This time, the petition calls on residents to formally object.
This can be done at presidentrsa@presidency.gov.za as well as rofhiwam@dac.gov.za, leonahs@dac.gov.za and mark.mandita@ecsrac.gov.za.
Another petition, created by the DA, has garnered 15,263 supports to reverse the name changes.
“The government has, in the middle of a pandemic, recently changed the names of Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage to Gqeberha and Kariega,” the petition reads.
“Did they follow all the necessary steps to make this important decision?
“We have all been kept in the dark.”
According to Eastern Cape sports, recreation, arts and culture MEC Fezeka Nkomonye, residents can still try to convince Mthethwa to change his mind if they put forward a strong case for him to do so.
“If an objection is lodged now, then the minister will once again cheque if the procedure was followed correctly,” she said.
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