Pretoria will be Tshwane by end of 2012: mayor

22 November 2011 - 13:12 By Sapa
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Pretoria/Tshwane. File photo.
Pretoria/Tshwane. File photo.
Image: moyogo

Pretoria will be renamed Tshwane irrespective of the cost or opposition to the move, mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa has said in a newspaper report.

Ramokgopa said Pretoria's name change, as well as the name change of 21 streets, would happen before the end of 2012, the Pretoria News reported on Tuesday.

"We are going to be resolute and stubborn in ensuring that our history is recorded correctly because our brave heroes paid the ultimate price," he was quoted as saying.

He spoke on Monday at the unveiling of the 13 names of victims, on the city's Wall Of Names, at Freedom Park. The 13 were shot dead during a 1985 protest against high rents.

Ramokgopa said he did not care about what the media reported about the costs related to the name changes as no amount of money was too much for "recording history correctly".

The Freedom Front Plus voiced disappointment at Ramokgopa's comments, saying it believed the name change issue was a political smokescreen to divert attention from service delivery issues.

"The mayor had at the time of his inauguration undertaken not to focus on an emotional issue such as the changing of names, but rather on service delivery," said Tshwane spokesman Conrad Beyers.

"Now that he is experiencing criticism with regards to service delivery, he is trying to cover it up by falling back on populist sentiments of the ANC."

Beyers said it was ironic that Ramokgopa had made these "polarising statements" at Freedom Park, which was intended as a monument to reconciliation.

While the FFPlus believed a settlement on the name change was possible, Ramokgopa's rhetoric would "force all parties back to the political trenches".

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