‘The people shall govern’ is a saying that the chairperson of the Name Change Committee, Councillor TJ Mudau, quoted in an interview on September 14, one month before the end of the consultation process of the Makhado Municipality.

Mudau said that the name which is leading is not a secret. "Makhado, for now, is the name which the people are saying is a suitable name," Mudau said.

The municipality embarked on a name change process, following the Supreme Court case won by the Chairpersons Association. The court ruled that the name change of the town Louis Trichardt to Makhado be set aside.

The Chairpersons Association reacted strongly to efforts to have the name of Louis Trichardt changed again.

"This is not about the majority vote, but about complying with rules, guidelines and a judicial system. The people did not ‘govern’, and this process is undemocratically forced form above. Did they disclose to the people the guidelines of the National Geographic Names Council that cultural heritage should be preserved? The whole procedure is a symbol of destruction of the democratic process," Mr André Naudé, chairperson of the CA said this week.

Cllr Mudau said that they have to listen to what the people are saying.

"In this case, individual interest will not stand, but the majority must prevail," Cllr Mudau said. He added that people from as far as Malonga in Tshimbupfe, 90 km from town, as far as Smokey in the Nzhelele area, Olifantshoek and Tiyani will be consulted about the name.

"All 37 wards fall under the Makhado Municipality. The town is their head office, it is where their interest is, where they buy and cash cheques," Mudau said.

As chairperson of the Name Change Committee, Cllr Mudau said that he had not received a single letter from the public containing questions on the name issue. The former spokesperson of the municipality, Mr Peter Magwala, extended the invitation to all those who wanted to ask questions, to do so in writing addressed to Cllr Mudau. That followed the complaints that questions were not allowed or not answered satisfactorily at the meetings in town held on August 4 at the show grounds and August 11 at the show grounds and the Exco Chambers.

Cllr Mudau said that after October 14 the next phase, which is the consolidation phase, will commence.

"Even after the town is named Makhado, life will still go on. The victory should be our victory; we are all South Africans. If this town is to be Makhado let us all be very proud of it. I don’t want a situation where people are divided," Cllr Mudau said.

The CA disagrees that there will be unity.

"This process is kindling animosity and polarisation between the man in the street and the politicians," Naudé said.