Confusion reigns over Pretoria name

Moves to rename South Africa's capital city have left residents more confused than ever.

The Tshwane Metropolitan Council - the local authority in the capital which has long been known as Pretoria - this year embarked on a $3.7m advertising campaign to promote Tshwane as Africa's leading capital city.

This was part of a wide move by government to change city, streets and metropolitan names associated with the apartheid era, to reflect the new dispensation.

But in response to the advertising campaign, the country's Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that there is no city called Tshwane.

The council embarked on the campaign after the Geographic Names Council approved the change from Pretoria to Tshwane.

But the decision is yet to be confirmed by the minister of arts and culture.

Emotions

In South Africa, names have deeper political complications stirring up emotions, and the trade union Solidarity is leading the challenge against the renaming of the capital city from Pretoria to Tshwane.

"The message that is being sent out especially to myself, as an Afrikaner is that the name is not acceptable - it is part of my heritage that name," says spokesman Kallie Kriel.

"So I'm asking myself if my heritage is not acceptable - am I acceptable? Am I seen as part of the rainbow nation?"

Pretoria is named after Boer settler Andries Pretorius. For many Afrikaners like Kallie Kriel he is a hero.

Mr Kriel describes him as the country's first freedom fighter, who waged the war against colonialism.

But the city council is determined to see the country's administrative city renamed Tshwane, reserving the name Pretoria only for a small area within the city.

Mayoral spokesperson Willie Baloyi describes people like Mr Kriel as extremists.

"Their opposition is not based on reconciliation," he says. "But when we look at it, it's more on a resistant type of thing and it is something that you have in other democracies where you have the extremists."

Owning history

The proposed name, Tshwane is the name of a pre-colonial local chief, and also means "we are the same".

Mr Baloyi says this was the indigenous name for the area, long before Pretorius arrived.

But in a young democracy, the question goes beyond the names. It's about whose history is honoured, and whose is forgotten.

The Afrikaner community is celebrating 150 years of the founding of Pretoria. But the city council has boycotted the event, something which angers Mr Kriel.

"The metro council governs the whole area not only sections," he says.

"By boycotting the 150 years they have chosen against part of the community."

But the council says it could not back an event targeted at a particular group.

Mr Baloyi says they will rather celebrate the five years of the new integrated metropolitan area, in which black and white citizens vote for the same local government structures.

He says for the majority, the name Pretoria will forever be associated with oppression.

"Pretoria was the base of apartheid, capital of apartheid," he says.

For now, according to the Advertising Standards Authority, there is no city called Tshwane and the advertising boards declaring Tshwane the capital city are misleading.

So confusion continues - and Solidarity has vowed to take legal action should the minister of arts and culture decide to approve the name Tshwane.

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