LOUIS TRICHARDT – In a continued display of top-down "democracy", the Makhado Municipal Council decided this week that the existing town of Makhado should now change its name to Dzanani.

Once again there has been no indication whatsoever that the residents of the existing Makhado had requested that the name of their town should be changed. In an effort to make it clear which Makhado it is referring to, the Makhado Municipal Council, with its administrative seat in the town of Louis Trichardt, referred to the registered name of the Makhado township (293) situated to the north of the mountain, and recommended that the name to be amended to be "Dzanani Township."

The decision to "mobilise" the residents of Makhado (R293) to change the name of their township came after an effort to change the name of Louis Trichardt was referred back to the Makhado Municipality by the Council for South African Geographical Names – the only authority which could recommend such a change to the National Minister of Cultural Affairs. This council drew the attention to the fact that confusion could result from having a duplication of two town names.

Council, during its latest meeting, decided that the intention to apply for a change of the name of Makhado should be published in the media and that the Makhado Multi-purpose Community College be specifically informed of the proposed change in the name of the township.

Should the SA Geographical Names Council accede to the latest name change whim of Council, residents of the existing Makhado and all other stakeholders will still have the opportunity to reject and to reverse such a decision, by giving good reasons for their rejection. Only after having allowed for such an eventuality, could the SA Council reasonably and lawfully begin to reconsider the original request by the ANC Municipality to change the town's name to Makhado.

During this week's Council meeting Cllr M M Makhado suggested that the sub-committee dealing with the proposed name changes should in the meantime identify other structures and institutions in the municipality, which "should change their names."