Mayor Bhanga to establish committee to appeal PE, Uitenhage name changes Last week, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa signed off on a decision to rename Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha and Uitenhage to Kariega, among other name changes. Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Mayor Nqaba Bhanga at a briefing on 4 March 2021. Picture: @NMandelaBaymuni/Twitter.
32 days ago
CAPE TOWN - The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality on Wednesday announced that it planned to establish a multi-sectoral committee to appeal against the renaming of Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage.
Last week, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa signed off on a decision to rename Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha and Uitenhage to Kariega, among other name changes.
Port Elizabeth ‘had other options’ apart from Gqeberha
Whereas Nelson Mandela City drew an underwhelming response, social media users had been clamouring for the use of iBhayi earlier this week, as it remains a popular colloquial reference for the city (translating to ‘The Bay’).
If there was really no choice to rename, I think that the proper isiXhosa name for Port Elizabeth iBhayi would have been a better pick than Gqeberha. Levi (@UBGK12) February 24, 2021
The committee’s spokesperson, Andile Nduna, explained how the process for renaming a location in South Africa works. He has denied that the public wasn’t consulted properly about Gqeberha, saying there were ‘fair opportunities’.