LOUIS TRICHARDT – The highly controversial name changing issue resurfaced this week. This time around with some public hearings which were arranged hastily. The result was that some went as scheduled while others had to be cancelled at short notice during the festive season.

According to a press release on December 12, the Makhado Municipality scheduled gatherings for December 15, about the renaming of "Thohoyandou Hospital and other institutions within the Municipality". No one could shed light on the awkward timing of these hearings or where in the Makhado Municipality the "Thohoyandou Hospital" was situated. According to the press release such a hospital is also up for a name change. The other "institutions" to be renamed include Voortrekker Square, the show ground hall, Council's Social Club, the municipal caravan park and the Civic Centre.

The public hearing in the Zoutpansberg area – in which most of these "institutions" are situated was in the same press release "re-scheduled until further notice," which means that only the communities in the Nzhelele, Vuwani and Hlanganani areas would have had the opportunity to have been heard on the issue.

In the meantime an official request by the Hlanganani Concerned Group to stage a peaceful protest march against the proposed re-naming of Louis Trichardt to Makhado was formally rejected by the Makhado

Municipality.

The group rejects the proposed name change as a racist exercise by the "Venda tribalistic Broederbond," the Makhado Municipal Council.

Regarding the name change of Louis Trichardt, the Office of the Premier released a statement earlier this week stating that the Limpopo Geographic Names Committee on a meeting on Friday, December 13 received and approved the application from the Vhembe District Geographic Names Committee for the change of names of Louis Trichardt to Makhado, Makhado to Dzanani and Dzanani to Mphephu. According to the press release it is expected that the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology will promulgate these names in the next year on his return from holiday. According to the relevant Act of Parliament, objections to such proposed name changes could still be lodged for a period of thirty days after such promulgation.