LOUIS TRICHARDT – The Makhado Municipality is behind the highly controversial changing of names on N1 signboards, which is causing a major public outcry.

It was established this week from reliable sources that the controversial changing of names on the road signs emanates from the local municipality.

Unless it changes it's highly controversial stance on the name of Louis Trichardt, it is said that the Makhado Municipal Council is facing the prospect of a total loss of credibility, growing unrest, expensive lawsuits and claims running into thousands of rands. Resentment against Council's deliberate misinformation regarding the purported name change is also growing. Signatures on petitions protesting council's racist and objectionably one sided actions in this matter, this week passed the 8 000 mark.

Council stands accused of treacherously misinforming communities and official bodies with "lies and false information." In the latest development the provincial and national road authorities were confronted by angry residents about their one sided and unlawful changing of the name of Louis Trichardt on road signs along the newly constructed N1 toll road.

At several road junctions along the new toll road the name of Louis Trichardt was replaced by the name Makhado. Just north of Masekwas's Poort a newly erected distance indicator announce: "Makhado 30km".

A spokesperson for the National Roads Agency, Mr Basie Nothnagel, said on enquiry he was not aware of the fact that the town's name has not changed. The road signs were manufactured after his engineers had consultations with the Makhado Municipal Council.

"If these road signs are wrong, we will remove and change them. The municipality will, however, have to pay for such change, if they informed us incorrectly," he said.

In the mean time the Soutpansberg Chamber of Commerce this week announced its intention to meet with both the Provincial Premier and the National Minister regarding the names issue. Earlier the Chamber confronted the responsible authorities about the changing of the name Louis Trichardt to Makhado on road signs in the vicinity of Polokwane. The Chamber also took up the same matter regarding similar changes on the N1 between Louis Trichardt and Musina. In a significant step, the Chamber demanded in writing that the Makhado Municipality restore the Louis Trichardt name boards, which were unceremoniously removed at the main entrances to the town at the beginning of last year. The Chamber insists that the name plates should be restored at the expense of who-ever unlawfully removed them in the first place.

A spokesperson for the Hlanganani Concerned Group this week re-iterated his group's memorandum, which was handed to Council after a protest march objecting amongst others against Council's improper research and insufficient consultations. The group forwarded a provisional objection to the minister of Cultural Affairs, in case Council should decide to once again act in an underhand way. The group labelled Council's actions as outrageous, surreptitious and undemocratic. They say that the relevant communities did not give the municipality a mandate to change the name of the town.

A breakdown of the attendance list at the so-called public hearings held by Council clearly proves this statement. Mr JJ Gohell, Secretary of the Hlanganani Concerned Group emphasised the point that his organisation's legal representative has been instructed to proceed with an appeal to the Supreme Court and if necessary to the Constitutional Court, if Council continues with its undemocratic actions.