A public participation meeting will be held on 10 September to discuss the proposed name change for Port Alfred and Kowie River.
The Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee has proposed to rename Port Alfred to iCawa or iCoyi, as well as Kowie River to iQoyi.
According to a media statement from the VF Plus, a survey done by Sunshine Coast Tourism indicated that 93% of residents are against the name change.
“These changes pose a significant risk to the local economy, tourism and established community identity”, VF Plus said in the statement.
“In a letter to the Speaker of the Ndlambe Local Municipality, Andile Marasi, and the chairperson of the Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee, Christian Martin, the Freedom Front Plus emphasised that while the party supports the recognition of indigenous heritage, it should not be at the expense of an established tourism sector developed over decades.
“Port Alfred and the Kowie River are locally and internationally renowned tourism destinations. A name change could undo years of marketing and investment in one fell swoop.
“Renaming the town and river would compel small businesses, tourism operators and the Municipality to incur costs they cannot afford. It could, furthermore, confuse and deter tourists, directly impacting local jobs and income.
The party proposed that the focus should rather be on addressing urgent issues such as water shortages, poor road infrastructure, unemployment, housing shortages and exorbitant tariffs.
“Millions of rands cannot be spent on name changes while basic service delivery is collapsing.
“The majority of residents’ wishes should be considered and the community’s obvious opposition to the name change should be the deciding factor.
“As an alternative, historical indigenous names could be recognised through dual naming or heritage plaques, thereby preserving both indigenous culture and the established tourism identity,” the statement read.
