Sandton drive renaming in overdrive

NICOLA MILTZ

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions South Africa (BDS-SA) has accused the Democratic Alliance (DA)-led executive of the city, and in particular, Mayor Herman Mashaba, of “preventing the implementation of this street name change”. It has planned a protest for this Friday at the Johannesburg City Council to demand that the name be changed.

In a statement issued this week, BDS-SA said, “In 2018, the Johannesburg City Council adopted a motion to rename Sandton Drive [where the United States consulate is located] after Palestinian icon Leila Khaled.”

Khaled, 74, is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and has visited South Africa several times. She is known as the poster girl of Palestinian militancy for her role in hijacking TWA flight 840 from Rome to Tel Aviv in 1969 and El Al flight 219 in 1970.

Member of the mayoral committee for community development, Councillor Nonhlanhla Sifumba, told the SA Jewish Report that the DA did not agree with the motion at the time because it did not conform to the prescripts of the policy for naming and re-naming which was reviewed in November 2017.

She said although Sandton Drive was situated in the city, it was a provincial road, and Gauteng province was responsible for initiating public participation through the city.

She said the protest action must be “politically motivated”.

“They clearly do not understand council processes… hence my only conclusion is that it might be politically motivated. Somebody somewhere is pushing an agenda. It’s a very emotive and sensitive issue, and requires a full understanding of council policy and processes.”

Ward councillor for the affected area, Martin Williams, said there had not yet been public participation on the matter. He said city policy required that the process of naming and/or renaming must be undertaken in a consultative manner, and this must be clearly demonstrated before a final decision can be taken.

Some of the minimum requirements for public consultation, according to Williams, include:

Consultation with ward councillors; the placement of public notices on site and at prominent strategic positions such as schools, clinics, and libraries or multi-purpose centres; the placement of municipal notices in local newspapers; and at least one public meeting, to name a few.

Williams said that city policy stated that place re-naming should be done “sparingly”, in order to eliminate unnecessary expenses, including costs for businesses and other stakeholders.

According to the policy document, “The naming of features after exceptional people is recognised as being a way of honouring outstanding individuals for their contribution to the development of the city and the country, and should be done sparingly and with careful consideration.”

People’s names should be used “only in rare cases”, the document says.

Councillor Thapelo Amad of the minor Al Jama-ah political party, which holds one seat out of 270 seats in the Johannesburg City Council, brought the motion before the council last year. It was opposed by DA Councillor Sergio dos Santos, who said it would be wasteful expenditure.

An amendment to the motion was then tabled and accepted, calling for renaming the road after Khaled. The DA did not support the motion, but was outnumbered when the Economic Freedom Fighters and African National Congress voted in favour of it.