KwaZulu Natal has been in state of unrest over the past few months. This time it’s not about Jacob Zuma. Nor is it about Blue Lighting. It’s about the plans to change the names of streets in Durban.
News of the degree of unrest that the municipality’s campaign has ignited has reached as far as Australia. The Australian and The Namibian both report how “Durban name-change sparks chaos”.
Alas, another example to the international community how our streets are often filled with “thousands of stick-and knobkerrie-wielding protesters”. (from the Mail and Guardian).
Unfortunately, this latest endeavour is merely another fiasco to illustrate my previous post’s point regarding the lack of consideration and lack of planning that the government appears to take pride in. I personally have an issue with the municipality allocating money to such a “cause”: surely the money would better be spent on improving schools in the city? Employing more teachers? Training more police officers? Preparing for 2010?
On a more realistic level, one would think that it makes more sense to improve road quality and road safety before worrying about the name of the road.
Of course it’s unreasonable to assume that the money would have alleviated all the world’s problems. Of course it’s understandable that the municipality wanted to make a notable change in the city. Of course it’s impossible to please everyone.
There’s a difference, however, between implementing a plan wisely, and implementing a plan without thought of immediate and future consequences. Mangosuthu Buthelezi summed it up perfectly when he said that, “This is short-sighted and in the long run, counterproductive”. (Mail and Guardian.) The chaos and bad publicity that the plan has caused could have easily been avoided had the powers that be simply gathered sufficient public opinion.
Had they done so, they would have realised that although the ANC is the ruling party, not everyone is privy to renaming streets after certain, select – and often obscure – party heroes. Whilst certain people deserve to be remembered, it is not up to a select few (that is, the municipality) to choose who is worthy. Just as the ANC has heroes, so the IFP, the DA and the ID have memorable icons of liberty and freedom.
As a young white South African, I have no affiliations with Griffiths Mxenge, Chris Hani, Monty Naicker, Joe Slovo and Moses Mabhida. The only “heritage” that I have is that which stems from British ancestry.
Yes, colonialism was a great evil.
But now 100 years later, our generation’s historical ties are those linked to Britain. Although by no means should the focus be placed on our community, a degree of recognition should be given. This is, after all, the “Rainbow Nation”, where people of all origins coexist. As “The Australian” reports:
The changes follow similar initiatives in other South African cities that have got rid of street names redolent of their colonial and apartheid past. In Durban, long renowned as a “last outpost of the British Empire” and the heart of English-speaking South Africa, it has proved more controversial than elsewhere.
“The sad thing about this is the erasure of history,” said David Basckin, a Durban
academic. “It’s a great pity to rub out the names of local people who built this city in order to honour foreign revolutionaries, obscure ANC activists and, in one case, an out and out criminal.”
The erasure of history is indeed sad. In a country that allegedly prides itself on remembering the past and learning from mistakes, the rulers seem very eager to “forget” everything and create one common, dictated, artificially constructed identity.
The lesson to be learned from the protest march is that the people are not as accepting and
tolerant as they look. The ruling party is quick to suggest that everything is “going well”. The people living the reality and feeling the impact of badly thought-out plans can clearly only take so much.
It’s unfortunate that we have to go through the process of illogical spending, chaos, international embarrassment and high tension before government starts taking public opinion seriously.
What’s even more unfortunate is that it seems to be becoming a trend in South Africa. Anything “alive with possibilities” has clearly now become “alive with possibilities of disaster”.
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