All Cape Times readers ought to support your editorial “Changing of names helps SA heal” (August 28).
I have three priorities to suggest for Cape Town.
We have roads named to honour the founder of the colour bar, JBM Hertzog, who also removed Cape African voters from the common electoral roll.
We have roads named to honour the fathers of apartheid, DF Malan, and Hans Strijdom.
Malan brought in the foundational apartheid statutes, making possible the demolition of District Six.
Strijdom did the same, with his election slogan of “baasskap”.
Note that Capetonians never chose these names, which were forced on us by Broederbond bureaucrats from Pretoria.
In view of their proximity
to Artscape, I again urge that DF Malan Street be renamed Johaar Mosaval, after Cape Town’s internationally famous ballet dancer, now 91 years old.
Metro policy does permit the renaming of a street after a living person when he has received international honours, which Mosaval has.
I similarly urge that Hertzog Boulevard be renamed to honour David Poole, another son of District Six, who also made immense contributions to ballet.
Strijdom Boulevard could be renamed Goringhaiqua Boulevard to memorialise the largest indigenous clan in the Cape Town area.
It is more than a decade
since I proposed much of this to the metro-appointed Rhoda Kadalie Committee.
Her committee was sympathetic to this - but no action has come from the city council in more than
a decade.
I am glad to have lived long enough to witness the return of
the names Hanover Street and District Six.
Now it is long overdue to get
the same action at the north end of Cape Town.