The metro has kick-started the process of naming and renaming many landmark features in Ekurhuleni with names that bring honour and pride to the residents.
The Ekurhuleni council adopted renaming of geographical features during its sitting last Thursday.
Among features to be renamed are the Germiston Theatre, which will be named after the late artist and actor Dumi Masilela.
He was affectionately known as S’fiso Ngema in South Africa’s musical drama series, Rhythm City.
This series is currently aired on eTV and its storyline focuses on young people trying to make it in the cutthroat music industry.
The series attracts a viewership of over three million.
Sadly, Masilela lost his life in a tragic hijacking attempt in August 2017 in Tembisa.
He was an inspiration for young people and a beacon of hope for those who, due to historical background, grow with odds stuck against them. He achieved success as a professional soccer star, a musician and an actor in one lifetime.
The Voortrekker Street off-ramp from the R21 highway in Kempton Park is proposed to be named after Ekurhuleni-born freedom struggle veteran Amon Ngulele, who nominated the name Ekurhuleni when the metro itself was going through a naming process.
Ngulele was a unionist and SACP leader who became a chief whip of council at the then Kempton Park Municipality (Khyalami Metro) after the first local democratic elections in 1995. He died in 2003.
Other proposed names that were adopted by council, include:
• Barbara Road (R24): Lazarus Mawela: A 1976 student uprising activist who is a founding member of the Black People Convention, which was a predecessor to the United Democratic Front (UDF). He was also a former councillor at the then Lethabong Municipality following the first local democratic elections in 1995.
• New Library in Tsakane: Mpho Rahab Molepo Library: Among the leading women who participated in the 1956 pass law resistance march, and a renowned community leader in the 1980s.
• Tokoza (R59): Dumisa Ntuli: He was involved in establishing the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) in Katlehong, Vosloorus and surrounding towns in 1983. He led COSAS until it was banned in 1985. He was an active member of the UDF in his community and spent three years in detention at Modderbee prison for his political activities. He served as the spokesperson of both of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and ANC in Gauteng.
• Holfontein/Etwatwa (N12): Richard Mhlongo: He led the East Rand Student Congress, ERASO and DASCO. He was part of the MKMVA underground machinery and similarly involved in the establishment of Daveyton Civic Organisation.
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• Tom Jones Road (N12): Amina Cachalia: She began campaigning against apartheid and racial discrimination as a teenager. She became a women’s rights activist, often focusing on economic issues, such as financial independence for women. She spent 15 years under house arrest throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She was the treasurer of the Federation of South African Women (Fedsaw), a leading supporter of the Federation of Transvaal Women, and a member of both the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress and Transvaal Indian Congress during the apartheid era.
• Edenvale (N12): Lungile Mtshali: She started her political activities in the union where she became a shop-steward for SACCAWU in the late 1980s while working at OK-Bazaar in Germiston until 1996. She was part of the national negotiating team for living wages and working conditions. Her activism continued beyond unions as a member of both the ANC and ANCWL. She served as a member of the Ekurhuleni ANC regional committee from 1995, then was later elected as a councillor, which led to her becoming deputy chairperson of Gauteng SALGA.
• Gillooly’s Interchange (N12): George Bizos: During the apartheid years, Bizos dedicated his working life to fight for basic human rights. After the collapse of apartheid, he turned his fight into ensuring that all South Africans equally enjoy those rights enshrined and guaranteed by the constitution. In his legal career, he represented many political activists in high profile political trials, including Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela in the Rivonia Trial.
In total, there are about 42 proposed names.
These names will go through a consultation process through an advertisement in the local media for comments and objections, while public hearings and constituency meetings organised and facilitated by councillors will also be held.
Comments and input will be consolidated for further submission to council for approval.
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