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The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture wants to make significant changes to the laws and processes followed when altering geographical names in SA.
including formalising new provincial committees and setting up a structured appeals process.
The Minister has asked the public to provide comments.
Have your say – shape the amendment.
Big changes coming for name changes in South Africa
BusinessTech — The department has gazetted notice of a slew of public consultations to take place in February and March 2025, looking for feedback on draft changes to the laws governing geographical name changes in the country.
The consultations will be an opportunity for the public to comment on the draft South African Geographical Names Council Amendment Bill, which will be further processed and tabled before parliament once the feedback is concluded.
The country has seen over 1,500 name changes processed since the council was established, including major towns and cities. Some more recent examples include the renaming of Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha in 2021, and a shift away from iconic names like Ladysmith to uMnambithi in 2024.
However, whenever these name changes occur, there is often a huge public outcry and allegations of a lack of consultation.
Consultation on the draft bill will start taking place from 4 February and run through to 25 March as follows:
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- Limpopo – February 4
- Mpumalanga – February 10
- Northern Cape – February 17
- KwaZulu-Natal – February 28
- Western Cape – March 4
- Eastern Cape – March 7
- North-West – March 11
- Free State – March 18
- Gauteng – March 25
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