EDITORIAL | Winnie Mandela Drive must not be named in vain

The City of Johannesburg pulled out all the stops, as it were, to rename one of Johannesburg’s busiest roads, William Nicol, to Winnie Mandela Drive, on her 87th birthday.

The change was ushered in with great pomp and ceremony, while politicians from different parties jostled to be seen to be the ones responsible for the positive change. The EFF, whose leader also tried to get Cape Town International Airport renamed after Winnie Mandela, positioned itself as a changemaker. Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda attempted to position his Al-Jamah party as a party of doers, while ANC leaders present ensured we were reminded this process got under way when they were in charge.

The various speeches focused on the symbolism of the change in name — the old making way for the new — but also of the stature of Mandela and the struggle for freedom and democracy she embodies. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is facing disciplinary issues within the ANC, praised her party for “celebrating and immortalising Mama Winnie”.

Of all the speakers, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi hit the nail on the head when he said: “As we name this street, let’s do so by learning from our past renaming experiences. If we rename a hospital after Chris Hani, its services must truly represent Chris Hani. If we rename an airport after Oliver Tambo, nothing must be faulty about that airport as Oliver Tambo was never faulty to us. This road [Winnie Mandela Drive] must be under our care and must be the way we want other roads to be.”

And therein lies the rub. Renaming a street or other structures is crucial to help us align our heritage (of a pursuit of freedom and our collective humanity) with our public symbols. This is bestowing honour on the best among us. But what is even more important is ensuring the infrastructure is maintained at the level not at odds with whoever is being honoured.

As things stand, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto is a far cry from what Hani represents to the South African people.

As it is, the management of traffic between Fourways, Bryanston and Sandton — the stretch that is now Winnie Mandela Drive — is not what it’s supposed to be because of perpetually dysfunctional traffic lights, among other challenges. Some parts of the road require resurfacing, while some potholes take too long to be attended to.

To name the street after a freedom struggle hero and then allow it to degenerate will be to dishonour the course of freedom for which Mandela fought and sacrificed so much. It is to associate her with subpar work. For far too long, names of struggle heroes were associated with informal settlements. That this is changing is good. What would be even better, is if our leaders and government could just ensure maintenance work is done.

Yet we have seen this movie many times before. When Lesufi, correctly, says naming a hospital after Chris Hani must mean “its services must truly represent” Hani, we can’t help but think talk is cheap. As things stand, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto is a far cry from what Hani represents to the South African people.

Further, not too far from Winnie Mandela Drive is Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, operated by Lesufi’s provincial government. Just a week ago, the hospital, named after a struggle icon, had no water. It’s plain the hospital becomes dysfunctional without water and patients’ lives are needlessly put at risk. Six months earlier, health ombud Malegapuru Makgoba decried the hospital’s poor state, listing it among examples of how not to run a hospital. He said it was dirty and unsafe — so unlike the activist it’s named after, a stalwart of the August 9 1956 women’s uprising that led to the annual commemoration of Women’s Day.

While Panyaza is correct to aim high, it would be helpful if he, evidently, was working to achieve the things about which he talked. Similarly, while the renaming of William Nicol to Winnie Mandela Drive is welcome and long overdue, we must hope the authorities will not perpetuate the association of Mandela with dysfunction by simply doing their work. It surely isn’t too much to ask for. After all, their raison d’être is service, however sloppy and intermittent it may now appear.