Ululating cheers from the African National Congress (ANC) benches yesterday greeted the announcement that Johannesburg International Airport will change its name to the OR Tambo International Airport.

Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan's announcement in the National Assembly sparked a heated debate. The ANC was attacked for having abandoned Nelson Mandela's approach to nation building and for using name changing to obscure its poor record of service delivery to ordinary people.

The application by Ekurhuleni mayor Duma Nkosito to change the name of SA's largest and busiest international airport has resulted in vigorous objections - particularly considering the decision taken during Mandela's presidency that places such as airports and dams should not take their names from politicians.

This led to airports throughout SA taking the names of the cities in which they were located.

However, Jordan said the initial suggestion came from the Ekurhuleni municipality, in which the airport is situated. The metro also contains Wattville, near Benoni, where Oliver Tambo was born.

Jordan said there was ignorance over Tambo's contribution to the country's liberation. "In honouring OR Tambo in this way, we honour the best in all of us," he said.

Other ANC speakers indicated that the floodgates of name changing could soon be opened. Peter Maluleke said, to loud cheers, that the building which houses the National Assembly should be renamed the OR Tambo building.

Yunus Carrim said the issue was not the new name for Johannesburg International but the length of time taken to achieve this - 12 years.

Freedom Front Plus MP Corné Mulder said the ANC was intent on polarising the country and, "since Nelson Mandela left government, you have forgotten what nation building is all about".

Democratic Alliance MP Desiree van der Walt said SA belonged to all who lived in it and not a single political party. She raised the costs of the name change, saying it should be undertaken only after the costs had been "quantified and properly budgeted and planned for".

African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe said the ANC was repeating the mistakes made under apartheid by naming airports after its own heroes.

Azapo MP Pandelani Nefolovhodwe raised a laugh when he declared his party in support of a national renaming programme, and said the name of the country should immediately be changed to Azania.

Business Day
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge