‘South Africa’ still a colonialist name

AFTER 25 years of promises, wishes and hopes, our country still retains some of the pre-independence features and names.

Despite the many positive achievements of the government, the retention of past colonial features makes our country the laughing stock of other African countries which underwent similar transitions.

A case in point is the retention of the colonial name for our country.

The name South Africa was given to this country by the descendants of the former settlers who thought it was appropriate, considering the location of the country on the continent.

There were many such insignificant names like South West Africa, Central Africa, Rhodesia, etc, which were later changed into more relevant African names.

The struggle for equality begins with removing small, seemingly insignificant obstacles.

This name bears all the injustices of the past, and is a painful reminder that the country is still run by the same powerful oppressors.

How do you expect hardened racists to embrace equality and reconciliation when they wake up everyday to the same ill-gotten privileges and opulence?

Why are we shocked when people still refer to others as inferior when oppressive symbols are still retained?

To these bigots it was good and legal for black people to be demeaned before 1994, but continuing to live in a country called South Africa makes them realise that they can still continue with their misguided prejudices.

The country can be given any name that reflects Africanness instead of a colonial name.