The Western Cape’s MEC for cultural affairs and sport is on a serious mission to get rid of some names — a process that has been mired in controversy in the past. On Thursday, Anroux Marais called for an audit of offensive names in the province in commemoration of the ‘’dawn of democracy’’. "The audit aims to identify all offensive names as part of the ongoing process to develop a common national identity‚ social cohesion and inclusivity within the province‚" a statement from her department read. Once offensive names have been identified‚ they will be changed in accordance with legislation. Like elsewhere in the country‚ discarding old place names has sparked heated debate‚ such as Pretoria being renamed Tshwane. In Cape Town, it once led to an embarrassing climb down for former mayor Peter Marais‚ who sparked fury when he wanted to change the names of two of the city’s most famous streets — Adderley and Wale. Not even the fact that he wanted to honour revered leaders Nelson Mandela...
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