[Typical African: Name changes and window-dressing are more important than hard realities. Many people, especially Afrikaners were shocked at the thought of the name changing to “Tshwane”… And now look at this cost. Note… many towns and cities and streets have had name changes… it would be interesting to see the cost of this to date… money which could have been better spent on other things. Jan]

By: Antoinette Slabbert

Pretoria – To change Pretoria’s name to Tshwane would cost an estimated more than R1bn, which many residents believed should rather be used to build houses and create jobs.

However, other residents believed the name Pretoria was synonymous with the city’s apartheid past.

These were apparently some of the findings of a team into the pros and cons of the name change handed to mayor Smangaliso Mkhatshwa in November last year.

Although Mkhatshwa tabled the report, saying the council would discuss it at a meeting on January 27, opposition parties have been battling to get copies in order to prepare for the debate.

Mkhatshwa also placed a media ban on the content of the report.

Democratic Alliance caucus leader Fred Nel said although the report was a public document, the party had been denied a copy despite repeated requests.

“They will probably hand us a copy two days before the meeting so that we won’t have time to prepare properly.”

African Christian Democratic Party councillor Pieter de Necker said he was promised a copy by last week, but had still not received it.

“I believe the ANC doesn’t really want to make it available to us. We will probably get it at the last moment before the meeting.”

William Baloyi, spokesperson for Mkhatshwa, said the mayoral committee had to first discuss the report. He neither confirmed nor denied that the report was on the agenda for this committee’s meeting (in preparation for the council meeting) on Tuesday.

Khorombi Dau, speaker, said the agenda for the council meeting had not been finalised, but the name change report was not on it.

Subesh Pillay, ANC chief whip, denied that his party was deliberately withholding the report. “It will be to our advantage if people read the report,” he said.

Bafana Sibisi, chairperson of the ANC’s Tshwane region, said the party’s regional management would be able to discuss the report only at its summit next month.

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Source: News24.Com URL: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/New…/p>