There are very few things that get South Africans hot under the collar like geographical name changes.
It almost always sparks heated debate and you will have people in support and many others against the changes.
One thing that is consistent is that there will be a lot of moaning and complaining on social media and throngs of letters in the opinion pages of newspapers, but very few actually take the time to participate in the process leading up to the official changes.
Let us take, for instance, the one that has had many in a spin since Tuesday night — Gqeberha, the new name for Port Elizabeth that was officially approved by sports, arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa.
Other changes approved were Uitenhage, which has now been gazetted as Kariega, and the Port Elizabeth International Airport, which has been changed to the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.
This process started as far back as 2016 and went through multiple public participation and objection processes.
And residents, particularly readers of this newspaper, were made aware of it from the beginning and throughout each stage of the process.
Every article contained the details of who to submit objections to and the closing date for such objections.
Hundreds signed a petition — which counted as a single objection by the way — while dozens of others argued in their objections about battling with the pronunciation and the costs involved with the name-change.
But here is the thing, geographical name changes must be viewed in the context of the broader SA transformation agenda — a process that may be necessary for a nation to heal.
That is not to say that Gqeberha achieves national healing, but there may simply have not been a good enough motivation from the public not to change the city’s name to Gqeberha.
May this serve as a lesson on the importance of active citizenry.
Take an interest in government processes, object even if you think it will not make a difference and ensure you make your voice heard.
Complaining about it on social media without actively participating will not make a difference.
