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Following an extended campaign against the renaming of Sandton Drive, during which the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg brought together thousands of opposition voices, the process of renaming seems to finally be on ice.

The pressure is working. The overwhelming majority of respondents opposed this renaming, today, a motion on the matter was withdrawn from council.

The motion in question, would have rescinded the 2018 decision to rename the road. This, however, is not the end. We believe in meaningful public participation, something that was entirely missing during the city’s process last year. Unlike the bulk of submissions supporting the renaming—collected under the questionable oversight of a fraud-accused former MMC—our objections came from traceable, legitimate stakeholders who would bear the brunt of a renaming decision.

Since the City started this process of renaming, it has been flawed to the core. Most problematically though, was the submission of comments by the public from former MMC Gwamanda. On the final day of submissions, thousands of comments in support of the motion were submitted. These were duplicates, untraceable, and illegitimate.

Our formal call for a forensic audit of submissions has been ignored by the City. Something that should not come as a surprise, as the former mayor and MMC described the process as a “mandatory formality”.

Most problematically, the renaming went against public sentiment of those directly impacted by it, and City policy. Not only would this renaming cause strained international relations, but it would also have done away with the policy against renaming streets after living individuals.

The City somehow cannot afford basic services—water pipes, streetlights, pothole repairs—yet planned to waste millions on renaming. Residents had rightly asked: Why prioritise divisive symbolism over repairs and maintenance of crumbling infrastructure?

We will always be on the side of residents, whilst actively demanding governance that works. The City needs to start fixing potholes, and stop playing cheap politics.

Issued by Cllr Martin Williams - DA Johannesburg Ward 90 Councillor