The Transformation of South Africa’s Naming Landscape
Dear South Africans,
The South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) was established under the South African Geographical Names Act, No. 118 of 1998. Its mandate is to lead the transformation of South Africa’s naming landscape to reflect our country’s languages, cultural heritage, and democratic values.
Many names of our villages, towns, cities, and roads still reflect colonial and apartheid legacies. Provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga have made notable progress in transforming major town and city names. In Gauteng, the recent road name changes include:
Houtkop Road to Duma Nokwe Road
William Nicol Drive (R511) to Winnie Mandela Drive
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, together with the SAGNC, encourages all South Africans to participate in ensuring that the names of places they live in, reflect indigenous languages, natural heritage, and cultural history. These initiatives also form part of symbolic reparations, as recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to restore pride and dignity and address historical imbalances.
To date, over 1,500 geographical names have been standardized across the country. Notable recent changes include:
Solomon Linda (formerly Pomeroy, KZN)
Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape)
Kariega (formerly Uitenhage, Eastern Cape)
The SAGNC is conducting Awareness and Capacity Building Campaigns to inform communities about the process of changing, correcting, or registering names. If a village, town, city, or geographical feature has a name that local people wish to change to reflect their language or cultural heritage, affected and interested parties can approach their nearest Provincial Geographical Names Committee or visit the SAGNC website at www.sagns.gov.za for guidance.
“We need to leave our children and grandchildren a legacy of places with names that reflect a democratic South Africa, its languages, and cultural heritage. Please play your part.”
We need to leave our children and our grandchildren a legacy of places with names that reflect a democratic South Africa in terms of its many languages and cultural heritage.”
PLEASE PLAY YOUR PART
For more information Contact:
Ms. Zimasa Velaphi (Head of Communications and Marketing) 072 172 8925 Email: ZimasaV@dsac.gov.za
Issued by the National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture
