GQEBERHA and Chief Dawid Stuurman could be the new names for Port Elizabeth and the Port Elizabeth International Airport.
This was recently confirmed by the Eastern Cape Provincial Geographical Names Committee (ECPGNC) after several public meetings held last year in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
Even though Gqeberha (the proposed name for PE) and Chief Dawid Stuurman (the proposed name for PE airport) had emerged as the city and airport’s proposed names, it could take up to months or even years before any new names would appear on road signs, said Zukile Jodwana, deputy chairperson of the ECPGNC.
The ECPGNC are urging the public to comment or lodge their arguments against the proposed name changes.
The comments and objections from the public – which are open until November 30 – will be taken into consideration for the city of Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth International Airport and the town of Uitenhage, Jodwana said.
“The subcommittee will transmit their comments for consideration to the ECPGNC, after which they will forward the final recommendation to the provincial government, who will in turn submit it to the national committee.
“The national committee will first investigate whether the legal steps have been followed before submitting the recommendation to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture. The minister will then accept or reject the proposal,” Jodwana added. This process can take another six to 12 months.
Subsequently, a subcommittee of the ECPGNC will work through the objections and comments, after which they will respond to each objection.
“The public has been given the opportunity to lodge complaints for the proposed name change. This will be taken into consideration before the finalisation of the name changes,” Jodwana said.
The public can send their comments and objections to:
. Linda Zileni at 043 492 0088 or via email to Linda.Zileni@ecsrac.gov.za;
. Chuma Mfikill at 043 492 0087 or via email to Chuima.mfikill@ecsrac.gov.za;
. Mark Mandita at 043 492 0056 or via email to mark.mandita@ecsrae.gov.za.
