An orderly debate held at the City Hall on Wednesday evening was disrupted towards the end when two Makana councillors exchanged strong words, shouting at each other because of the name change debate. The fight erupted when Ward 4 councillor Lena May arrived late with a group of people when the debate was about to be concluded and started demanding service delivery.
An orderly debate held at the City Hall on Wednesday evening was disrupted towards the end when two Makana councillors exchanged strong words, shouting at each other because of the name change debate. The fight erupted when Ward 4 councillor Lena May arrived late with a group of people when the debate was about to be concluded and started demanding service delivery.
May and Mind councillor Devon Waldick exchanged strong words and came close to exchanging blows while screaming out their divergent view points on the name change issue. Waldick who was waiting in the queue to voice his opinion was furious at May for supporting that the name must not be changed.
"You are black, don't even think you are white, Khoi people are black, he yelled," but May insisted that service delivery was more important than the name change.
"There is nothing done by these people who want to change the name, there is not service delivery," she said.
During the debate the four panellists were introduced by Grocott's Mail editor Steven Lang. He also told the audience that the Grocott's Mail was not looking for a winner or loser, but instead wanted to get the community together.
"We want to see a united community that shares the same vision of the future, so we hope that this debate will unite us," Lang said. The panellists were: social activist Ayanda Kota, ANC chairperson in the Makana sub-region Mncedisi Boma, David Hodgson from the Grahamstown Residents' Association and retired Makana councillor Michael Whisson.
Kota and Boma were arguing why the name Grahamstown should be changed, while Hodgson and Whisson argued for the name to remain. Whisson however, made it clear that his position was that the decision process was done.
He said two surveys by the Institute for Social and Economic Research and the Keep Grahamstown Grahamstown campaign had shown divided opinions on the matter and that the wish to change the name was by no means unanimous.
When residents from across Grahamstown were asked, one third were for it, one third against the change and one third were indifferent, he said. But the debate sparked emotions as the majority of the audience defended the name and said changing it would negatively affect the economy of the city.
The debate was attended by mostly white residents and a few young black people who felt that the debate was unfair as they were not given a chance to state their views.
Xolile Madinda felt that black people living in the township could not use their food money to come to a name-change debate held in the town hall. "If the debate was held in the township, would the white people attend it?" he asked.
Philip Machanick said the debate showed that We are two societies, after 18 years of democracy the communities are still divided. What needs to change is the attitudes, we should be debating why we are still divided as a community.
Quoting Steve Biko, Kota said: "Basically the South African white community is a homogeneous community. It is a community of people who sit to enjoy a privileged position that they do not deserve, are aware of this, and therefore spend their time trying to justify why they are doing so… I have my own qualms, I was invited by Grocott's Mail my views are not that of the community and can never be imposed onto the community. The process of changing the name must be democratic. White people who have a conscience will support the name change, those who oppose it I regard them as purely white racists and white supremacists."
Defending the name of the city, Hodgson said that if the municipality changed the name it would lose out financially and economically. He said some of the city's financial contributors would pull out if the municipality decided to change the name.
"The R250 000 should be used for service delivery rather than wasting money on the name-change process. We must not dwell on the past about what Graham did, instead we must live in the present time and plan the future," he said.
Hodgson also argued that Graham had simply carried out orders. Kota said Joe Slovo had made a choice to be on the side of justice, he could have made a choice to enjoy the privileges that were enjoyed by white people. "To say Colonel Graham had no choice, I dismiss that with the contempt it deserves," he said.
Kota said no white person with a conscience can argue that we must retain the name Grahamstown. He said that the name Graham is offensive to the majority of the city and it needs to be changed. He rebuked the name, saying that the hands of Colonel Graham are dripping with the blood of innocent people and the town cannot be named after such a butcher.
Boma emphasised the need for people to understand the area's history, and said they cannot live in the present without knowing what happened in the past. "We should promote human dignity, and Colonel Graham's soldiers are full of blood. If we say there is wrongdoing in changing this name, those who resist change are characteristically wealthy and predominantly white. Unfortunately it is the truth, this has nothing to do with the cost, you will find out that the cost [of changing the name]is R250 000 and that is 0.05% of the budget, and it will be done once. I am standing here as an ANC leader and the ANC is the leader of society at large. We are in the process of transforming society and we should hold each others' hands and move forward," Boma said.
