Prof Nobuhle Hlongwa has been announced as the Chairperson of the newly formed KZN Provincial Geographical Names Committee (KZNGNC). This emerged when MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture in KZN Mntomuhle Khawula met the committee in the induction workshop hosted in Durban last week. This committee includes Mandla ka Nozulu Kheswa, MP Kubheka, TL Mazibuko, Inkosi Cele, Sicelo Dlamini, Zanele Nzama, Edmund Mhlongo, N. Nzimande, NS Ntuli, Lawrence Mthombeni, ZM Msibi, Jabulani Simelane, AN Nxumalo, N. Mngadi, Mandla Ndlovu and Musa Ndlovu. Mandla ka Nozulu Kheswa was nominated as its Deputy Chairperson. The committee will serve in their portfolio till 2028 according to their three years term of service. To complement the committee ex officio members, include officials from the Department who will offer administrative support.
MEC Khawula congratulated this new committee and highlighted that he is “happy to have a well constituted committee that is balanced according to the geographical spread of the province as well as gender.” He further expressed gratitude for the committee to allow the Department to use their services, “KwaZulu-Natal doesn’t exist in an island, but is part of the global community and the things we do and whatever the decisions the committee makes will be made on behalf of SA extended to Africa.”
“When people look at the decisions you would have taken as a committee, they will look at it as that of the country. The founders of our democracy and those responsible for the first laws, established when our country underwent transformation, when they made the laws and all these bodies to be established it was for a reason. Your work should be a transparent process and give satisfaction that name changes and decisions were taken under consideration of many things on the table.”
The geographical naming programme is a government project to give South Africa a post-colonial identity. Key responsibility of the KZNGNC includes recommending geographical names for standardization, renaming and correction. To achieve this, they rely heavily on research and stakeholder consultation.