Mudslinging, political potholes over Sandton Drive renaming

Last week’s council resolution by the City of Johannesburg to vote against the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) motion to rescind the renaming of the monumental Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive doesn’t mean that all the processes have been met for the renaming. The vote was all about the motion being brought forward by the DA.

The issue has caused a lot of confusion among residents of Johannesburg, who are vehemently opposed to the renaming of Sandton Drive after Khaled, a terrorist who doesn’t have any connection to their beloved city. It’s not only a wasteful, futile exercise, it’s also a political miscalculation by the African National Congress (ANC) which is focusing on agitating the United States (US) and Israel at the cost of its citizens.

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) and ActionSA have made it clear in the past – and they haven’t changed their position – that they wouldn’t support the renaming of Sandton Drive. However, this issue has become a political football, and these two political parties are of the view that the DA is using it to find political currency. But, the fact that the PA and ActionSA didn’t support the motion brought by the DA doesn’t mean that they approve of the renaming of Sandton Drive.

The DA’s motion was based on its grievances about alleged irregularities in support of the name change, in which it found duplicates and illegitimate submissions, compared to the traceable and legitimate submission it made against the renaming. The ANC used its majority to push away the DA’s valid motion without focusing on its substance and content.

From an ideological and political point of view, ActionSA and the PA will never support the DA on any matter unless they iron out their differences. It was expected that they wouldn’t vote with the DA.

The ANC’s logic is that the name “Leila Khaled” will be used to irritate or embarrass the US as it will be expected to carry cards and bear a website carrying the name, Leila Khaled, on its consulate address. We have to prepare to lose the US consulate in Johannesburg, which services a lot of South Africans who are staying in or visiting the US. Anyone who has problems with their travel documents will have to go to Durban or Cape Town if the consulate in Johannesburg is shut down. This is a political miscalculation on the part of ANC in the City of Johannesburg.

The issue of renaming Sandton Drive after Khaled has been one of the most divisive if not destructive to have ever emerged in the political history of Africa’s wealthiest city, and it is being used to polarise the residents of this cosmopolitan city.

Joel Pollak, the frontrunner to become US ambassador to South Africa, has raised concerns that the renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive will have far-reaching consequences. There’s no doubt that the US won’t operate a consulate on a street renamed after a terrorist, and the US consulate in Johannesburg would be closed, never to be reopened again. To make matters worse, the US would never do business or have any relationship with Johannesburg, which would have dire economic and political consequences.

This futile struggle to rename Sandton Drive comes amid the water crisis around Johannesburg. This was confirmed during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent visit to Johannesburg during the G20 Summit, after which he declared that he wasn’t happy about the state of Africa’s wealthiest city, which is deteriorating fast. Most traffic lights aren’t functional, potholes are everywhere, crime is skyrocketing, and service delivery is non-existent. It’s these issues that are supposed to be at the forefront of the City of Johannesburg, not spiting the US and Israel.

Sandton Drive doesn’t incur insulting or provoking memories for a particular group of people as Leila Khaled would. There is no need to change the name of Sandton Drive unless the entire name of the Sandton area is changed. Still, South Africa isn’t short of heroes and heroines who played a significant role in the development and progress of Johannesburg through politics, business, arts and culture, science and technology, and education.

The ANC should desist from exploiting the Israel-Palestine issue to seek political currency. Recent declining electoral results prove that people don’t support the ANC’s vehement attack against Israel or the US. Rather, they are interested in accessing superior basic services from the government.

Although naming or renaming is important for cultural and historical reasons, it is vital that the City of Johannesburg honours deserving local or national personalities who contributed to the city’s development rather than those who don’t have any connection with it at all.

The City of Johannesburg should be concerned about its deterioration rather than wasting time on a futile political expedition. This renaming exercise will only create divisions among the residents of Johannesburg. It will further agitate the US, and there will be consequences for us as well as for future generations. We have to remember that South Africa’s economy is intertwined with the US economy.

• Kenneth Mokgatlhe wa Kgwadi is a writer, researcher, and political analyst. He is pursuing his Master of Arts in African Studies (African Sustainable Communities) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.