Celebrating Port Elizabeth as Gqeberha this Heritage Day
Despite there being many objections to their suggested name changes that ultimately carried the day, Boy Lamani, Christian Martin and Chief Mervin Allies say Gqeberha, Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport and Kariega show that SA has a diverse history that should be celebrated.
Today, Nelson Mandela Bay residents celebrate Heritage Day under the new names for the first time.
The names were approved by sports, arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa in February, effectively consigning Port Elizabeth, the Port Elizabeth International Airport and Uitenhage to the history books.
Lamani — who proposed the Gqeberha moniker — said heritage played an important role in promoting cultural diversity, social cohesion and indigenous history.
He said Heritage Day was a wonderful way of celebrating SA’s cultural roots and a reminder of where people came from.
“The Gqeberha name unites all different cultures and communities as this is the name of our beautiful Baakens River that runs through our city.
“The beauty of this name is it’s indigenous. It is nature and not the name of a person, so it caters for all political parties and religious groups.
“Celebrating Heritage Day for the first time in Gqeberha is history at its best and I’ ma proud resident,” Lamani said.
When the Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee’s recommendation that Port Elizabeth be renamed Gqeberha was first mooted, it caused an uproar.
A petition titled “Keep the name Port Elizabeth” was circulated on social media and garnered about 26,000 signatures. However, the petition — despite the thousands of signatures — was counted as a single objection.
Martin, a Khoi and San activist, said the renaming of the airport after Chief Dawid Stuurman was a collective victory for the Khoi and San people.
“This is not a Christian [Martin] victory but a collective one because during those hearings, there were people who gave input and motivated in person.
“The name change shows the historic diversity of the country and region.
“But what is disappointing right now is the signage at the airport remains the same and hasn’t changed.
“We’re just waiting on Airports Company SA to launch the new name officially,” Martin said.
Allies, who proposed that Uitenhage be renamed Kariega, said: “I have to mark this [Heritage] day somehow because this is a historic event.
“I am out of words.
“I am very glad because for many years, our people have been sidelined and this is a victory for us.”