From Proposal to Gazette: How South African Cities Really Get Renamed

When East London becomes KuGompo and Graaff-Reinet becomes Robert Sobukwe Town, the public debate inevitably swirls around pronunciation, political symbolism, and nostalgia. But beneath the heated discourse lies something far less glamorous: a meticulous, legislated, and surprisingly bureaucratic process that governs how South Africa’s places get their names.

With Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie approving 21 geographical name changessoon to be gazettedmany South Africans are asking: who decides, and how?

The Gatekeeper: SAGNC

At the heart of every name change is a little-known statutory body called the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) . Established under Act 118 of 1998, the council’s mandate is not to erase history, but to standardise place names and ensure they reflect the country’s cultural and linguistic diversity.

The SAGNC does not rename places on a whim. It evaluates proposals against strict criteria: historical significance, linguistic appropriateness, and public resonance. It also ensures consistency across maps, official documents, and signage. Once the council is satisfied, it makes a recommendation to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, who holds the final authority to approve or reject.

Public Consultation: More Than a Formality

Contrary to popular belief, name changes are not imposed unilaterally. The process requires extensive consultation with affected communities, local municipalities, provincial authorities, and heritage bodies. Proposals are published for public comment, and objections are formally considered.

This phase is often where debates intensifyand where delays occur. The recent renaming of Graaff-Reinet to Robert Sobukwe Town, honouring the Pan Africanist Congress founder, underwent years of engagement before receiving ministerial approval.

Why Now?

The current batch of approvals follows a backlog of applications that accumulated during previous administrations. McKenzie’s office has signalled an intent to work through outstanding recommendations efficiently, while adhering to the legislative framework. The 21 newly approved names are expected to be published in the Government Gazette in the coming weeks, after which they become official.

Beyond Symbolism: Practical Implications

A name change is not merely ceremonial. It triggers administrative updates across multiple systems: municipal records, road signage, postal codes, mapping services, and even international databases. The South African Post Office, statistics agency, and national mapping department must all align. This is why the SAGNC’s standardisation role is criticalit prevents a single town from being known by different names across different government departments.

The Bigger Picture

For proponents, renaming is restorative, correcting colonial erasures and honouring figures excluded from official memory. For critics, it is costly and divisive. But what both sides often miss is that the process itself is designed to mediate exactly this tension. It deliberately slows down change, layers it with oversight, and forces proponents to build a case.

Whether you cheer or lament the new names, understanding how they arrive reveals something important about South Africa’s post-apartheid project: transformation, by design, is never as simple as just changing a sign.