Efforts by the Makhado Municipality to rename streets, infrastructure and other landmarks in and around Louis Trichardt have been suspended, at least for the time being.

At a Council meeting on Thursday, August 21, a decision was taken to hold the work of the name-change committee in abeyance until further notice.

According to Mr TK Mudau, chairman of the name-changing committee, this decision was reached when it came to light that the correct procedure to initiate the process had once again not been followed. Apparently, all the relevant stakeholders had not been invited and the notice given for the meeting to take place was too short. Mudau indicated, however, that this suspension is only temporary and that all the procedures will be followed in their next attempt.

Some stakeholders indicated their disapproval of not only the way in which the meeting had been called, but also of the fact that the matter has been raised at all. The Chairpersons’ Association refused to attend the meeting scheduled for last Friday, indicating that they regarded the meeting as informative and not as consultative.

One informed source said one of the reasons why the move had been suspended was because no submissions by the public had been received by Council on the matter.