The Makhado Municipality does not have a mandate from the residents of Louis Trichardt to change the name of the town.

By far the majority of the residents of Louis Trichardt consider the name of the town to be of major historic significance and an important part of the mutual historic heritage which can unite all residents in a positively transformed New South Africa. They view a repeated effort to change the name as hostile, divisionary and a serious violation of the proclaimed ideal of national unity. It is also rejected as a one-sided and blatant act of bad faith as well as a scandalous waste of time, energy and resources which could be better spent on poverty relief and much needed improvement of infrastructure.

These views came prominently to light during and after a stakeholders briefing meeting which was held on Saturday, August 4, at the Louis Trichardt show grounds. Notice of the meeting was given in one solitary newspaper advertisement a week ago, in which the postal address of the municipality was given as a private bag in "Makhado, 0920" (the postal code for Louis Trichardt). According to an Appeal Court ruling, the previous purported name change was flawed. It was ruled that the name of the town remain Louis Trichardt.

Saturday’s meeting was attended by a representative sample of the demography of the town. During the meeting, called to brief stakeholders about the consultation process which is to start on Saturday, August 11, not a single member of the meeting expressed support for the renewed effort to change the name of the town. Several members expressed disappointment at Council’s one-sided insistence on repeating an exercise which the first time round resulted only in a wave of suspicion, hatred and division amongst various elements of a community which was on the verge of a historic breakthrough to reach out and to unite in the charitable spirit of the much propagated "Rainbow Nation." The name change issue caused a backlash of hostile mistrust which is still undermining and eroding most of the positive local gains in the field of constructive relations.

A local historian pointed out that the name Louis Trichardt is of major historical significance because it represents the peaceful mutual respect and harmonious co-operation which characterized the historic meeting and friendship between a white leader as a representative of Afrikaans, Christian, Western culture and a black leader representing traditional Venda African culture. Their meeting at the foot of the Soutpansberg (Songozwi) is considered as a historic watershed which in fact signalled the very first beginnings of the spirit which permeated the ideals of reconciliation and unity of which ex-president Nelson Mandela, ex-president FW de Klerk and Bishop Desmond Tutu were the energetic present-day exponents.