Where the streets have no names…

The City of Johannesburg Council issued a notice of its intention to consider the renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive in September 2024. The proposed name change has been met with widespread criticism by residents and businesses alike, but what are the legal principles that would regulate such a decision, and will the City of Johannesburg take heed of the policies that are in place?

The Policy on the Naming of Streets and Other Public Places within the City of Johannesburg, as revised in November 2017 (“the Policy”), was compiled in line with the provisions of the South African Geographical Names Council Act 118 of 1998 and was created with the view of providing clear guidelines, rules and procedures for the naming and re-naming of streets and other public places by means of a process that is transparent, inclusive and consultative.

Clause 5 of the Policy sets out the principles for naming and re-naming and includes, inter alia, that the “iii. Naming of features after exceptional people is recognised as being a way of honouring outstanding individuals for their contribution to the development of the city and the country, and should be done sparingly and with careful consideration”. The Policy further provides that “iv. Only in rare cases should people’s names be used and any submissions/ petitions to name after a person must be accompanied by a detailed motivation and profile why the specific person is worthy of honour…”. Taking this into consideration it is not quite clear why the City would consider re-naming the well-known Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive, an infamous Palestinian liberation fighter, with no apparent ties to the City of Johannesburg or South Africa.

Other aspects to be considered by the City include the provisions of Clause 7 of the Policy, detailing the criteria for motivating a change in name which states that a “…renaming proposal will be considered only when the long-term benefits to the community can be shown to outweigh any short-term effects or private interests. In the case of re-naming applications, the city should consider all associated costs, not only those carried by the City, but also those incurred by businesses and other stakeholders”. The criteria that should be used to compile motivations in support of re-naming proposals include:

If one considers the above and the community reaction, to date, against the proposed name change, it certainly leads one to believe that the proposed re-naming does not enjoy a strong degree of community support. At this stage, there does not appear to be any substantiation that the proposed name change will have any long-term benefit to the community at all. The City Council will also have to give careful consideration as to what the impact of the proposed name change may have on domestic and foreign investment, especially considering the various entities located on Sandton Drive and the surrounding area, including the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), numerous multinational corporations, banks and law firms, which all play a crucial role in Johannesburg’s overall economy.

The Policy statement makes it clear that “place re-naming should be done sparingly, in order to eliminate unnecessary expenses, including costs for businesses and other stakeholders”. Considering the challenges that South Africans face every day, ranging from slow economic growth to a lack of infrastructure and access to basic education, it leads one to question whether or not the expenditure related to re-naming a street name would be justifiable.

Members of the public were invited to submit comments or to make representations to the City, by 15 October 2024. All submissions filed will now be considered by the City, whereafter a decision will be made.