Makhado Mayor Cllr Glory Mashaba said on Wednesday this week that she was now no longer completely sure that threatening phone calls and messages she received during the past year had to do with the name change controversy regarding Louis Trichardt.

This is a turn-around for her in respect of earlier media reports. In one daily publication on Monday this week, Mashaba is quoted as saying that the threats "definitely have to do with the name change of the town".

"I cannot say completely it’s about the name change issue. The last call I got I cannot guarantee that it is about the name change. Some of the SMSes I received (however) you can see it’s about the name change," Mashaba told the Zoutpansberger.

The last call that Mashaba is referring to was that of an English-speaking man on May 2. The call came a day after the Worker’s Day celebrations at the Louis Trichardt Show Grounds during which workers denied Mashaba the opportunity to speak. It is also widely rumoured in Council corridors that Mashaba and her municipal manager, Ms Faith Muthambi, do not see eye to eye. At present, Muthambi is on special leave amidst an internal investigation into the alleged mismanagement of funds and maladministration with regard to the awarding of a tender to a close friend of hers. When this is taken into account, many say that Mashaba must not be too quick to attribute the alleged threats only to the name change fiasco.

As for the other call, Mashaba said she received a phone call from an Afrikaans-speaking lady who allegedly called her racist names in February this year. Mashaba also makes mention of SMSes she received, as well as finding fresh blood in front of her front door. Asked about when she found the fresh blood, Mashaba said that this had already happened a year ago.

Mashaba said that she had reported all the cases to the police, but had not received feedback from them yet. She confirmed that she was only able to supply the number of the Afrikaans-speaking lady to the police as the number appeared on her phone. No other numbers were available.

"We are supposed to meet again tomorrow (Thursday)," Mashaba said.

In reaction, the chairman of the local Chairman’s Association (CA), Mr André Naudé, said that if Mashaba was indeed receiving threats, the association condemned the actions of the perpetrators. The CA spearheaded the campaign which ultimately resulted in the South African Supreme Court of Appeals’ setting aside the changing of the town’s name from Louis Trichardt to Makhado.

"Following the painting of the statue of Makhado in 2005, we unanimously agreed that none of us would, under any circumstances, take the law into our own hands. Anybody who takes the law into their own hands undermines the basis of good corporate governance. Good corporate and transparent governance is what the CA strives for," Naudé said.