Middle Letaba Dam name comes under scrutiny
The community of Ndengeza and other supporting villages in Giyani packed the Giyani Community Hall to its capacity on Tuesday for a public participation meeting that sought to alter the name of the Middle Letaba Dam to one that better represents the Tsonga people.
This comes after Niketani Rikhotso, a resident of Ndengeza village with royal family roots, petitioned the Limpopo Geographical Names Change Committee earlier in September this year to have the dam name changed to N’wamanungu in honour of Hosi N’wamanungu Siweya who settled in the area until he died in 1901.
N’wamanungu is said to be a warrior who served under Joao Albasini, a Portugese man, who was a big game hunter and a trader who established trade routes between Mozambique and South Africa. In their argument, the community of Ndengeza village argued that the area around the dam is inhabited by Xitsonga native speakers. “The name Middle Letaba Dam was imposed on us when the dam was built in 1984, and it is not a Tsonga name. Our parents and grandfathers did not have a choice,” explained Rikhotso as he gave reasons why he thought the name should change.
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He was supported by many other community members, who presented their written submissions, accompanied by research supporting that N’wamanungu did settle in the area and died there. Almost everyone in the community hall supported the idea of a name change except the delegation that represented Hosi Nhlaniki. The crowd in the hall booed Ndzalama Nhlaniki as he attempted to make his submission on behalf of Hosi Nhlaniki. The Greater Giyani Municipality Speaker had to intervene to give Nhlaniki a chance to speak.
“If I’m prevented from speaking, it will mean that this process did not go well, and you know what that means,” he threatened, citing court cases that had to be reviewed due to failure to follow proper processes. He said Hosi Nhlaniki was neither in favour nor against the name change. “Concerning the Middle Letaba Dam, we unfortunately do not support or disapprove of the application.
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This is simply because a document with information that shows the basis on which the application to change the name is made has not been provided to us,” he said, adding that the proceeding, if successful, will not do justice to the community in the area since they were not properly consulted. Emanuel Mongwe, a member of the Limpopo Geographical Names Committee, said the committee would assess all the submissions made before a decision to change the name was taken.
