LOUIS TRICHARDT – The chairperson of the Limpopo Geographic Names Committee, Adv Tommy Ntsewa, says he is satisfied that the majority of people in the Makhado Municipal area are in favour of the proposed change of the name of the town Louis Trichardt, regardless of the fact that there is no evidence that the inhabitants of the town itself were ever consulted.

He was interviewed this week after a media statement, which he issued at the end of last year.

In the statement he announced that his committee "received and approved" the application of the Vhembe District Geographical Names Committee for the change of names of the towns of Louis Trichardt to Makhado, of Makhado to Dzanani and of Dzanani to Mphephu.

The statement read that the Minister of Arts, Culture and Technology, Dr Ngubane, would promulgate these names on his return from the holidays.

When he was confronted with the fact that no effort has as yet been made to consult with the residents of the town, Adv Ntsewa said he would contact the Makhado Municipality and if that was true they would be urged to convene an urgent meeting of residents of Ward 1, which ward contains the historical town of Louis Trichardt.

He would not be drawn into the question as to whether he would also advise the Minister to put the issue on hold until such consultation has taken place. He said that the name change process should now be brought to a close. Asked why it was important to rush it through, regardless of proper procedures not being followed, he said the Provincial Premier already announced the changing of names at the beginning of 2002. He indicated that whatever the outcome of the consultation with the residents of Ward 1 would be, it would in any case be subject to the already known majority opinion of residents of the Makhado Municipality.

He did not answer the question as to whether he considered it in keeping with the spirit of the new Ward System to subject individual wards to the tyranny of the masses, instead of honouring the wishes of the individual wards.

Adv Ntsewa displayed alarming ignorance of historic facts, when he contradicted a statement that the town of Louis Trichardt was established on an open, unoccupied stretch of land, and that it did not replace any existing settlement but was specifically built as a memorial to the memory of a remarkable peaceful pioneer who was also a close friend of the then Venda leader. Adv Ntsewa said if there were no people living on the specific site it was because they were "forcefully removed."

Asked for his opinion as an advocate on the legality of the prejudiced actions of the local and provincial authorities in removing a name which is still the only official name of the town and in publishing a tourism map on which the town of Louis Trichardt is totally ignored and named Makhado, Adv Ntsewa said it would be appropriate to desist from calling the town by another name, until a new name is officially promulgated by the Minister. He said that he was not aware of the name change on the Provincial Tourism Boards' official tourist map. He said he was under the impression that Makhado referred to the name of the municipality.