Cape airport name change proposed
By Philda Essop, Political Writer
Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool has proposed that Cape Town International Airport be renamed after the late trade unionist and liberation fighter, James "Jimmy" La Guma.
The plan will form part of a broader campaign over the next few months in a bid to ensure that the heroes and heroines "of every community, culture and group" are honoured in public spaces.
Rasool made the statement on Wednesday in his State of the Province address at the opening of the legislature, where he also announced a R1-billion anti-crime initiative and a R1.2bn boost for housing in the Western Cape.
La Guma was a founder member and president of the SA Coloured People's Congress. He died, aged 67, in 1961.
Indicating that other key sites would also be renamed, Rasool said: "We submit this proposal in humility to kickstart a necessary public engagement that will hopefully take us closer to the common values that bind us together as the people of the Cape and South Africa."
He said that 12 years into democracy, "there was hardly a single street of significance that reflects the architects of our freedom".
"In fact, we still live with the daily humiliation of native yards and boulevards named after those who gave us slavery, colonialism, religious bigotry and apartheid.
"Surely enough time has passed to embark on a wide-ranging debate … to find consensus on how to honour and memorialise the architects of freedom and democracy.
"When will we allow our children to engage with the legacies of patriots such as Basil February, Steve Biko, Adam Kok, Chief Albert Luthuli, Imam Haroon, Sir Richard Luyt, Molly Blackburn, Hilda Bernstein, Alex La Guma, Gaby Shapiro, Looksmart Ngundle, Christmas Tinto, Autshumao, Sarah Baartman, Dullah Omar and others?"
To stimulate debate, Rasool said streets in the province had been lined with posters of freedom fighters. "We are fortunate that in the DA's eagerness to embrace Taliep Petersen by renaming Keizersgracht after him, they have opened the door to a renaming process … we thought they were implacably against."
Rasool's proposal follows the renaming of Johannesburg International Airport after former ANC leader O R Tambo.
La Guma was born in Bloemfontein in 1894, and spent most of his life in Cape Town, where he worked in the textile industry.
He joined the Communist Party in 1924 and also served as a secretary of the ANC in the Western Cape. He was also a founder of the National Liberation League.
His son, the novelist Alex La Guma, who was a high treason trialist in 1956, died in 1985.
Article from http://www.iol.co.za/
Please tell me what is wrong with "Cape Town International Airport"?
Maybe we should change the name of South Africa to something that nobody associates with a country too.
Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool has proposed that Cape Town International Airport be renamed after the late trade unionist and liberation fighter, James "Jimmy" La Guma.
The plan will form part of a broader campaign over the next few months in a bid to ensure that the heroes and heroines "of every community, culture and group" are honoured in public spaces.
Rasool made the statement on Wednesday in his State of the Province address at the opening of the legislature, where he also announced a R1-billion anti-crime initiative and a R1.2bn boost for housing in the Western Cape.
La Guma was a founder member and president of the SA Coloured People's Congress. He died, aged 67, in 1961.
Indicating that other key sites would also be renamed, Rasool said: "We submit this proposal in humility to kickstart a necessary public engagement that will hopefully take us closer to the common values that bind us together as the people of the Cape and South Africa."
He said that 12 years into democracy, "there was hardly a single street of significance that reflects the architects of our freedom".
"In fact, we still live with the daily humiliation of native yards and boulevards named after those who gave us slavery, colonialism, religious bigotry and apartheid.
"Surely enough time has passed to embark on a wide-ranging debate … to find consensus on how to honour and memorialise the architects of freedom and democracy.
"When will we allow our children to engage with the legacies of patriots such as Basil February, Steve Biko, Adam Kok, Chief Albert Luthuli, Imam Haroon, Sir Richard Luyt, Molly Blackburn, Hilda Bernstein, Alex La Guma, Gaby Shapiro, Looksmart Ngundle, Christmas Tinto, Autshumao, Sarah Baartman, Dullah Omar and others?"
To stimulate debate, Rasool said streets in the province had been lined with posters of freedom fighters. "We are fortunate that in the DA's eagerness to embrace Taliep Petersen by renaming Keizersgracht after him, they have opened the door to a renaming process … we thought they were implacably against."
Rasool's proposal follows the renaming of Johannesburg International Airport after former ANC leader O R Tambo.
La Guma was born in Bloemfontein in 1894, and spent most of his life in Cape Town, where he worked in the textile industry.
He joined the Communist Party in 1924 and also served as a secretary of the ANC in the Western Cape. He was also a founder of the National Liberation League.
His son, the novelist Alex La Guma, who was a high treason trialist in 1956, died in 1985.
Article from http://www.iol.co.za/
Please tell me what is wrong with "Cape Town International Airport"?
Maybe we should change the name of South Africa to something that nobody associates with a country too.
Labels: South Africa - Airport
