A row is brewing over the notice published in the Government Gazette on Friday announcing that Grahamstown's name had been changed to Makhanda.
Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthetwa, said in an accompanying statement that the gazetting of the new name for Grahamstown had been preceded by 20 years of discussions, from members of the public, historians, academics and politicians.
Mthetwa's statement said that as early as 2012 the Makana Local Municipality had public engagements on a possible change of name Grahamstown when they were dealing with changing the names of the streets of the town.
But, anti-name change campaigner, Advocate Jock McConnachie, said on Wednesday, that he had addressed a formal complaint to the Minister of Arts & Culture, pointing out that the Friday's notice in the government gazette was defective.
"It's been put out that the name change is final that with effect of the notice published in the Gazette last Friday and that's actually incorrect and the notice is defective because it doesn't tell people that they still have the right to object within one month of that notice and that only once the minister is considered those objections can he make a final decision one way or another. He has to provide reasons if he rejects the objections," he said.
McConnachie told Algoa FM News that the Keep Grahamstown Grahamstown campaign had already received over 200 objections to the Minister's notice.
He said, as was the case in other cities and towns, the Department had not followed a proper public consultation process in accordance with what has been laid out by the Supreme Court of Appeal
McConnachie said the validity of such names is therefore open to challenge.
He said the whole name changes process begins with the local council but he says because not enough people were in favour of a name change, provincial authorities took matters into their own hands.
"So what happened with this latest process, or so-called it wasn't the proper purpose, is that the Provincial Committee and the National Council took matters into their own hands and they didn't hold a proper process, they held one meeting, attended by a fewer than a hundred people and on the strength of that they claim that there is enough support to change the name," Mc Connachie said.
He said they also didn't have a decision from the local council adding that it was completely illegal.
In their response Ministry spokesperson, Asanda Magaqa, said that the government gazette is "the official newspaper of government to inform citizens of government decisions."
"It is common knowledge that even after a matter or notice has been published in the government gazette there is always a recourse. The recourse is 30 days of submission of complaints or indeed objections to what has been published in the government gazette," she said.
Magaqa said the process is governed by the South African Geographical Names Act of 1998 and "therefore all the complaints the Minister receives (and) will be dealing will be in terms of the same legislation, Section 10 of the Act which makes the provision that anyone complaining on it, the name change that is gazetted by the Minister, he or she, should do that in writing to the Minister within 30 days from the date in which the Minister published".
She said the Minister is also bound by the same legislation to respond in writing to all the issues members of the public objected to or complained about.
