Winnie’s Stompie legacy

Insults on social media about the “Mugger of the Nation” and Stompie Seipei’s murder may not stop William Nicol Drive being named after Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

If you want your arguments taken seriously, Twitter, Facebook etc are not effective forums.

Rather use formal processes. Let’s do this thoroughly. That’s what I’ll do. William Nicol Drive starts at Hyde Park where I am the affected councillor.

Authorities often pay lip service to public participation. This should not happen if we know the requirements and hold role players accountable.

On Saturday, Joburg mayor Geoff Makhubo, “officially launched the start of a public participation process to rename William Nicol Drive”.

What does that mean? What’s the next step?

The city’s policy says: “All affected ward councillors must always be engaged through the ward committee structures, via the office of the speaker, ward governance, in consultation with the regional director’s office”.

By yesterday, none of the above had contacted affected ward councillors.

I wrote to the speaker’s office and the Region B director, requesting opportunities for ward 90 residents to participate. Dates are important.

Council policy on renaming says: “In terms of the notices and advertisements, the responsible body must request the public to submit comments on the proposed name or renaming and/or make any other submissions within 28 days”.

We need those notices so people can have the full 28 days to comment.

The city’s policy, in line with the South African Geographical Names Council Act, says road names shall be designated by way of council resolution. A resolution is different from a motion.

So far, Makhubo is relying on an adopted 2018 motion proposed by ANC councillor Loyiso Masuku – who is currently “stepping aside” because of her alleged role in a Covid-19 personal protective equipment scandal.

With Joburg by-elections in November and local government elections next year, the timing of Makhubo’s Winnie announcement suggests
it’s a vote-catching distraction from economic and political woes, including corruption.

People objecting will be labelled right-wing, racist etc. A motion is not binding, especially if it conflicts with council by-laws and policies.

Policy says a renaming proposal should be considered only when the long-term benefits to the community can be shown to outweigh any short-term effects or private interests.

The city should consider all associated costs, not only to the city but also those incurred by businesses and other stakeholders. Does anyone think Joburg can afford extra expense right now?

Once a renaming is approved by council resolution, the responsible body must place public notices on site and/or in local newspapers notifying the public of the final decision.

There must be “at least one public meeting”. And so on.

On my Twitter timeline (@marttwit) you can find the detailed city policy on renaming.

Use it to tackle the road ahead. Study the criteria. Present sustainable arguments. Angry, cryptic tweets won’t help.

Martin Williams, DA councillor and former editor of The Citizen.

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