Airport name change at 'point of no return'

Published Jul 10, 2006

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Changing Johannesburg International Airport's name to OR Tambo International Airport has reached a "point of no return", the department of arts and culture said on Monday.

While people still had to the end of the month to write to the minister about the issue, it was "unlikely" that the decision would be reversed, said Minster Pallo Jordan's spokesperson, Sandile Memela.

"The minister's approval of the name change as proposed by the Ekurhuleni metropolitan council and endorsed by the SA Geographical Names Council means it can now officially be used. It's up to the Department of Transport and the Airports Company of South Africa to implement the change," Memela said.

This comes after Jordan announced in the Government Gazette of June 30 that he accepted the proposals that the airport's name be changed to honour former ANC president Oliver Tambo. He allowed 30 days for comment.

Transport Ministry spokesperson Collen Msibi said the ministry would wait for the final comments before officially changing the airport's name.

"This name change comes after lots of consultation and it has the support of the aviation industry," Msibi said.

A Democratic Alliance member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Solly Nkhi, said the party was unhappy with what he called a "unilateral name change policy".

"Johannesburg is a neutral and international name that has already been established. Now there is going to be a name change at an extra cost that we do not need right now, and this change will probably be ham-handed on top of that. I predict mass confusion in our tourism industry," he said.

The Freedom Front Plus has urged interested parties to submit objections to the name change to the minister, saying it was previously agreed that the names of politicians would not be used when names of airports are changed.

"By deviating from this agreement, the government is sending a negative message to South Africans, which would lead to further polarisation and alienation," Corne Mulder, the party's arts and culture spokesperson said.

"The change of the airport's name has incalculable financial implications for Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Gauteng and the whole of South Africa.

"These costs will not be borne by the business community alone, but valuable tax money will be used in the service of the political ambitions of the ruling party," he added.

The proposal to change the name of Africa's largest and busiest airport was made by Ekurhuleni mayor Duma Nkosi in 2003.

He proposed the airport be renamed in honour of Tambo, who lived in the township of Wattville, near Benoni.

It would not be the airport's first name change. It was known as Jan Smuts airport until 1994 when it was changed to Johannesburg International airport to reflect the then government's decision to have neutral names for the country's airports. - Sapa

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